The Appalachian region of the United States often gets a perceived stereotype that the rural people are poor, ignorant people who generally do not engage in civil society and only sit on their rocking chairs on their porches with a gun at their side, ready to shoot at any intruder to their illegal moonshine operation. However, the development of the Appalachian Trail clearly showed that this region of the country was rich with robust and complex networks of civil society.

This exhibit is meant to showcase how small civil societies who shared a common interest in creating the Appalachian Trail, strengthened democratic institutions and practices, particularly during a time of economic vulnerability and the spread of authoritarianism globally.