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The Clay County Wild Man: The Life of Orval Elijah Brown
Paperback
Historical FiguresMythology & Folklore
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Publisher: Independently Published
Pages: 158
Weight: 0.38
Height: 0.40 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
In the hills of Clay County, West Virginia, Orval Elijah Brown became one of the region's strangest local legends. With long hair, a heavy beard, a loincloth, and a knife at his side, he spent time in a cave above his family's farm and charged curious visitors for photographs with the man they came to see.
What looked like a simple Wild Man act was only one part of a far more complicated life. Orval served in both the Army and Navy, traveled widely, and eventually returned to Sycamore Creek. In 1950, he shot and killed his relative Wilford Bryan Reedy. Orval said he acted in self-defense, but the shooting led to nearly eighteen years in a state hospital.
The Clay County Wild Man: The Life of Orval Elijah Brown tells the story behind the famous image. Drawing from historical records, photographs, published accounts, and family recollections, Marcus Rourke follows Orval from his childhood and rise to local fame through military service, tragedy, confinement, release, and old age.
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