Origin of the Term Appalachia

The Appalachian culture is slowly fading as family members move away and newcomers arrive. This is especially noticeable in the speech patterns of today's mountaineers. I have tried to stay as close as possible to the old speech when writing Witches' Brew. My husband's family still speak in the old way so it is easy for me to slip into their dialogue.

So, where did the term Appalachia originate? I wondered. After a little research, here is what I discovered.

Apparently, while exploring in 1528 on the coast of what is known today as Florida, the Narvaez expedition came upon a Native American Village close to today’s Tallahassee, FLA. They transcribed the name as Apalchen/Apalachen but this was soon changed to Apalachee by the Spanish.