Oral Histories

Listen to the audio files:

Smiling person wearing a light-colored jacket and a long necklace, standing outdoors in front of a stone building.
An older person wearing glasses and a light-colored cardigan over a shirt with a bolo tie, standing before wooden doors.
A black-and-white portrait of a person wearing a dark hat with a light-colored band and a patterned shirt.
A black-and-white portrait of a person in a suit and tie, presented in an oval frame.
An individual wearing a green and white plaid short-sleeved shirt sits indoors near a metallic pole.
Black-and-white portrait of a person with short, light hair wearing glasses and a dark top, looking toward the camera.
A person with glasses, wearing a checkered jacket and a bolo tie, seated against a neutral background.
A person in a striped, short-sleeved collared shirt sits at a desk with papers, looking to the side in a formal setting.
A person wearing glasses and a collared white shirt, smiling slightly while looking toward the left.
A heavy iron chain rests on a rock overlook, featuring a panoramic view of a valley town nestled between green mountains.

Pineville History

Pineville — Gem City of the Cumberlands — lies along one of the most historic routes in the nation. The pathway that winds through the Pine Mountain range and alongside the Cumberland River, was once a buffalo trace, and then served as the Warrior's Path for the Native Americans who traveled and camped here. Then the Daniel Boone Trace became better known as the Wilderness Road. Today U.S. Highway 25-E follows the historic route that once brought settlers into the west as they travel between Lexington, Kentucky and Knoxville, Tennessee and points south.