In Episode 13 of the Southern Blueprint Podcast, we begin a two-part series exploring the true story of the Gentleman Smugglers and the massive federal investigation known as Operation Jackpot. This is a deeply Southern story—rooted in the Lowcountry, stretching from South Carolina’s barrier islands to the Caribbean, and ending with one of the most…
Tag: history
The State of Franklin: America’s Lost Four-Year Experiment (1784–1788)
The “State of Franklin” (occasionally referred to as “Frankland” in period documents) was a brief, extra-legal republic created by frontier leaders in what is now East Tennessee. Their aim: to establish the 14th state of the United States. Between 1784 and 1788, Franklin operated a rival government. It held elections, enacted laws, organized courts, negotiated…
SBP Podcast Episode 12: Coming Back to NASCAR After 20 Years — At the Wildest Possible Time
There are times when you return to something familiar and realize it never really left you — it just changed while you were gone. That’s what happened to me with NASCAR. I haven’t truly followed the sport since around 2007–2008. Life moved on. Interests changed. NASCAR, at least to me, stopped feeling like home. But…
LEWIS REDMOND: THE PRINCE OF DARK CORNER — THE OUTLAW WHO MADE THE SOUTH HIS LEGEND
In the years after the Civil War, as the Carolinas nursed wounds still raw from defeat and Reconstruction, federal law felt like a distant threat in the mountain country along the state line. The steep ridges and tight hollers held families who clung fiercely to their land, to their own labor, and—often—the hidden lifeblood of…
Southern Reads: Southern Stock
There’s a certain kind of book that doesn’t just land in your hands — it lands in your life at precisely the right moment. That’s what happened when I picked up Southern Stock by Gena Elliott this month for our Hidden Pine Lodge Book Club. What I thought would be a good Southern racing novel…
SBP Podcast Episode 11: The Rougarou-Beast Of Faith And Fear
In the swamps of Louisiana, where cypress trees rise from the water and fog clings to the Spanish moss, stories still whisper of a creature that walks between man and monster. They call it the Rougarou — part man, part beast, born of sin and superstition. The word comes from the French loup-garou, meaning “wolf-man.”…
The 13 Most Haunted Places in the South — Where History Still Walks at Night
From bayou mansions and lighthouse towers to decaying jails and Civil War homes, these places hum with the echoes of what came before. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there’s something undeniable about standing in a space where tragedy once unfolded, and where whispers linger long after the living have gone. These are thirteen…
SBP Podcast Episode 10: The Hatfields and McCoys: The True Story Behind America’s Most Infamous Family Feud
Few stories in American history are as dramatic, violent, and enduring as the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys. What began with Civil War bitterness and a dispute over a hog spiraled into a decades-long conflict filled with betrayal, gunfights, and tragedy along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River. In the latest episode…
SBP Podcast Episode 9: Oil, Power & Murder: The Cullen Davis Story
In the 1970s, the name Cullen Davis was synonymous with wealth, power, and scandal. At the time, Davis was the richest man in America ever to be tried for murder — and the story that unfolded in Fort Worth, Texas, would grip the nation. In this episode of The Southern Blueprint Podcast, we dig deep…
Southern Reads: The Lion and the Fox
Espionage, Ironclads, and the Quiet War That Decided a Nation History has a funny way of spotlighting the generals and forgetting the shadows behind them. But if you want to understand how wars are really won—or lost—you’ve got to look where the cannons weren’t firing. That’s where Alexander Rose takes us in The Lion and…