About Foxfire

In 1966, a struggling English teacher at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in Northeast Georgia asked his students what would make school more interesting. They decided to create a magazine, featuring stories gathered from their families and neighbors about the pioneer era of southern Appalachia as well as traditions still thriving in the region.

The students called it “Foxfire” after the glow-in-the-dark fungus found in the local hills. This spark of an idea turned into a phenomenon of education and living history, exploring how our past contributes to who we are and what we can become – how the past illuminates our present and inspires imagination.

Museum & Heritage Center

In 1974, Foxfire used book royalties to purchase land, which eventually became an immersive museum. Today, you can experience the museum first-hand by walking through the outdoor museum and encountering buildings and artifacts representative of life in the mountains, from the 1820s to the 1940s.

Books

The Foxfire Magazine generated global interest in the folkways and crafts of Southern Appalachia. The Foxfire Book was the first of a series of anthologies compiling articles from the magazine and focusing on the trades, crafts, and livelihoods of the Appalachian pioneers. Today, there are a dozen books in the series as well as companion books covering everything from hog scalding to making wine.