But unlike the giant lumberjack who supposedly created the Grand Canyon by dragging his ax, or the mythical cowboy who allegedly rode a tornado from the plains of Kansas to California’s Death Valley, there is ample evidence suggesting that the steel-driving man was much more fact than fantasy.

“You keep collecting bit after bit of information, and you finally get enough to realize that he was real,” said Bill Dillon, a former Talcott postmaster, who serves on the steering committee for the development of John Henry Historical Park.

via John Henry story may be more fact than fiction  – News – The Charleston Gazette – West Virginia News and Sports –.

I thought that this story would be interesting, especially in the limelight of the Historical Jesus debate. For a while, John Henry was considered a myth, even in the “modern days” of the late 19th century. Yet, research, a generation removed, was able to prove that Henry did exist, although not in such a robust way as the myths have made him out to be. One of the  reasons that Henry began as a folktale was due to racial politics at the time.

Anyway, thought that this may be something to be used later…