Old records show different spellings over the years: Dalhart, Dalhard, Dale Hart. As with many Appalachian
families, their history was divided between official documents and oral stories passed down from generation to generation.
What we did know was that the family had lived on the same plot of land for more than two centuries.
They cultivated their own fields.
They built their own houses.
They raised their own children.
And rarely left.
The neighbors remember them as a discreet, even mysterious, community.
They did not attend local churches.
Their children did not attend local schools.
They avoided municipal gatherings and rarely consulted a doctor, except in cases of absolute necessity.
For decades, people simply accepted that the Dalharts preferred isolation.
In rural communities, especially in previous generations, atypical families were often left alone.
