John Henry

folklore · American hero · railroad · strength

A steel-driving man. John Henry worked on railroad tunnels, hammering steel drills into rock to create holes for explosives. This was one of the hardest jobs in America during the railroad-building era.

The famous race. According to legend, John Henry challenged a new steam-powered drill to a competition to see who could drill through a mountain faster. He won the race, but the effort was so hard that he died right after.

Became a folk song. John Henry's story was so inspiring that workers turned it into a famous folk song that people still sing today, keeping his memory alive for over a hundred years.

Symbol of strength. Whether or not the story is completely true, John Henry represents the incredible strength and determination of workers, especially Black Americans who built America's railroads.

Railroad tunnel hero. John Henry worked during the 1870s when workers were building the Big Bend Tunnel through a mountain in West Virginia, one of the biggest engineering projects of that time.