Casto Hole, The

DESCRIPTION: "Far in the woods on Upper Tug, they wrap ol' Union in a rug"; amid Confederate sympathizers, the Castos rally around (and hide in) a cave, "the Casto Hole." Various people set out from the cave and eventually flee back
AUTHOR: Eliah Power? (source: Bush-FSofCentralWestVirginiaVol2)
EARLIEST DATE: 1970 (Bush-FSofCentralWestVirginiaVol2)
KEYWORDS: Civilwar travel
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Bush-FSofCentralWestVirginiaVol2, pp. 22-23, "The Casto Hole" (1 excerpt, 1 tune)
Boette-SingaHipsyDoodle, p. 25, "The Casto Hole" (1 excerpt, 1 tune)
Roud #7015
NOTES [181 words]: Bush's notes to this say, Although this song never became widely distributed, it is well known in Jackson County where it originated. During the Civil War, most of Jackson County backed the Conferderacy. The large Casto family, however, remained loyal to the Federal Union. Because of their pro-Union activities -- in particular, their association with the so-called 'Underground Railroad' -- the Castos were forced to 'hole up' in a cave near Statts Mill."
This is more than a little odd. West Virginia became a state because the population didn't want to be part of the Confederacy. Not all West Virginians of course agreed with this, but Jackson County was fairly far north and likely to have been pro-Union. And the Underground Railroad didn't really need to operate during the Civil War -- even before the Emancipation Proclamation, runaways would have been taken as "contraband." So the only time this would have made any sense was in 1861, probably when George McClellan was operating in the area. This is possible, of course, but there is no hint of it in Bush's excerpt. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.0
File: Boet 025

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