Menu Close

Where did John Henry work on the railroad?

Where did John Henry work on the railroad?

John Henry went to work as a steel-driver for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, or C-and-O. The company asked him to lead workers on a project to extend the railroad into the Allegheny Mountains. The workers made good progress on the project until they started working near Big Bend Mountain in West Virginia.

What was John Henry job?

As the story goes, John Henry was hired as a steel driver for the railroad. Later, the railroad company brought in a steam drill to speed up work on the tunnel. It was said that the steam drill could drill faster than any man.

What did John Henry invent?

He developed a number of products, many of them based on his most famous invention, Lingo programming: a scripting language that helps render visuals in computer programs. Thompson used Lingo in one of his better-known computer inventions, Macromedia™ Director.

What is the setting in John Henry?

John Henry and his race against a steam drill may both be real, so the song has a very specific setting in place and time. Therefore, the song’s setting can’t be fixed with complete certainty. For many years, the Big Bend Tunnel on the C&O line in West Virginia was identified as the site of the historic battle.

Where is the John Henry tunnel?

Now stands west of town, on the south side of Hwy 12/Hwy 3, in John Henry Historical Park. The statue is down near the entrance to the Big Bend railroad tunnel….Book Now.

Adults 1 2 3 4
Kids 0 1 2 3 4

What is the climax of John Henry?

The climax of this story was when John Henry beat the machine in a contest.

Was there a real John Henry?

There are two John Henrys , the actual man and the legend surrounding him. Defining the first is a matter of assembling facts. He was born a slave, worked as a laborer for the railroads after the Civil War, and died in his 30s, leaving behind a young pretty wife and a baby.

Is John Henry a folk tale?

Julius Lester ‘s John Henry is based on the African American folk ballad “John Henry,” the tale of John Henry, the steel-driving man who was bigger and stronger than anyone and the competition between him and the steam-powered drill in digging a railroad tunnel through a mountain.

What is the story of John Henry?

John Henry is an African American folk hero. He is said to have worked as a “steel-driving man”—a man tasked with hammering a steel drill into rock to make holes for explosives to blast the rock in constructing a railroad tunnel. The story of John Henry is told in a classic folk song, which exists in many versions,…

What is the John Henry song?

This folk song tells the story of John Henry, an enormous man who worked on the Big Bend Tunnel near Talcott , West Virginia. The tunnel was carved through the Big Bend Mountain so the railroad could go through it instead of around it.