Morris Stephenson has spent decades reporting on Franklin County’s moonshine making. Above, he tells his story with his companion, “Victor,” by his side.
Franklin County has been called the Moonshine Capitol of the World – mostly for the volume and variety of spirits produced and the longevity of the trade, which has been traced back to the late 1700s. Many raids took place near where Philpott Lake’s Johnny’s Ridge is located. Shooting Creek, Runnet Bag Creek and other vertical mountain areas provided hiding places with abundant water sources for liquor making. In 1935, a large sting operation identified law enforcement officials who were in on the money-making opportunity that illegal liquor sales provided. Between 1930 and 1935, 37 tons of yeast, 16,920 tons of sugar and thousands of tons of malt, meal and other ingredients of moonshine making were said to have entered the county. In the early 1970s, one of the largest operations was busted. It contained twenty 719-gallon vats and was located off Prillaman Switch Road between Ferrum and Henry, followed by a similar yield from an operation in Ferrum later the same year. What follows in one man’s front seat view of the trade in the area around Philpott Lake.
Morris Stephenson has spent decades reporting on Franklin County’s moonshine making. Above, he tells his story with his companion, “Victor,” by his side.
