The Real and Reel Locations of Hatfields & McCoys Explained

The 2012 miniseries Hatfields & McCoys did not use the actual locations of the famous feud between two rival families in the late 1800s. 

The Hatfields lived in West Virginia and the McCoys in Kentucky, both in the Appalachian Mountains. But the show was mostly shot in Romania, where the Carpathian Mountains looked a lot like the Appalachians, with their green hills and thick woods. This was because Romania offered tax benefits for filming there.

The show did some filming in West Virginia, but it was hard to film in the real places where the feud happened. Many places were protected for their history, so the production team had trouble getting permission to film there. Still, the show was praised by critics, partly because of the beautiful scenery. 

The Hatfields & McCoys series showed the historical conflict between the families very well, with the complicated relationships and the events that caused their fight. The places they picked for the show helped make the viewer feel part of this family drama.

Here are some of the locations where the series was shot –

Wall Hatfield’s Courthouse and Jail 

The jail and courthouse of Judge Wall Hatfield are important places in the history of the Hatfield-McCoy feud. The Hatfields & McCoys series shows many key events happening there. 

One of them was the famous Hog Trial, where Floyd Hatfield was accused by Randolph McCoy of taking a McCoy pig. Judge Hatfield tried to be fair and picked six Hatfields and six McCoys for the jury. 

But when the Hatfields won because of relative William Stanton’s testimony, many people doubted the trial and got angry and suspicious. Soon after, Stanton was shot by Paris and Sam McCoy, who got away with it by saying it was self-defense.

The courthouse was also where both Hatfields and McCoys were locked up after they attacked each other’s families. In the Hatfields & McCoys miniseries, the courthouse was also where the McCoys and their friends, lawyer Perry Cline and bounty hunter Phillips, planned their moves. 

The Wall Hatfield’s Jail and Courthouse had a big impact on the things that happened before and during the Hatfield and McCoy feud, making it a valuable historical site. The place shows how complicated the feud was, with the family problems and the justice system making things worse.

Paw Paw Trees

The Hatfields & McCoys had a lot to do with the Paw Paw trees. One of the saddest things that happened in the feud was in 1882, when three McCoy brothers were caught for killing Ellison Hatfield. 

Devil Anse Hatfield, who thought that the McCoy brothers would get away with it, stopped the officers who were taking the boys to jail. After Ellison died, the brothers were brought to a bunch of Paw Paw trees and tied up before being shot by Devil Anse Hatfield and his family. This cruel shooting changed the feud a lot, making the two families hate each other more.

Even though the shootings were very bad, no one was arrested for five years, and the McCoy family had to deal with their pain and anger. The Paw Paw trees are gone now, but there is a sign that tells people about what happened there as part of the Hatfield McCoy Trail.

The Family Cabin of the McCoys

The Hatfields & McCoys had their worst fight with the 1888 New Year’s Massacre at the cabin of Randolph and Susan McCoy. Devil Anse Hatfield wanted to end the feud for good, and the Hatfields, with Jim Vance in charge, attacked the cabin very badly. 

Susan McCoy was hurt a lot during the attack, and Randall got away. Sadly, two McCoy kids died in the attack, and the cabin was set on fire. Johnse and Cotton Top Hatfield, who had done bad things to the McCoys before, were also there when the cabin was attacked.

After the New Year’s Massacre, a lot of people were arrested and tried, and that stopped the fighting, but not the hate in the Hatfields & McCoys. The massacre also had one more big result: Jim Vance, one of the people who led the attack, was shot a week later as payback. 

The cabin, where so many bad things happened, was never built again. Now, there is a sign that tells people what happened there, and it makes people remember about the violent and sad things that happened there.

Election Day 1882 – Ellison Hatfield’s Murder

The killing of Ellison Hatfield on Election Day in 1882 was a big thing in the Hatfields & McCoys. The murder made the feud more violent and cruel than ever. 

Ellison, one of Devil Anse Hatfield’s brothers, was shot and killed by three of Roseanna McCoy’s brothers – Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud. The Hatfields were very angry about the killing of Ellison Hatfield, and they wanted to get back at the McCoys for what they did. 

The killing of Ellison Hatfield was a turning point in the Hatfield-McCoy feud and caused many more people to die on both sides. The place where this happened, on Election Day in 1882, is important to know the story better. 

The Hatfields & McCoys miniseries shows the scene as a fun family day, with people dancing and having a good time. But when the McCoy brothers and Ellison Hatfield start to fight because of drinking and anger, the mood changes fast. 

The nasty stabbing of Ellison Hatfield makes the place go from a happy party to a sad crime scene, showing a new level of cruelty in the feud.

Johnse’s Cabin 

In 1880, Johnse Hatfield and Roseanna McCoy fell in love for a short time, but both families hated it. Johnse left Roseanna for his family, and she was pregnant and alone. Their baby girl died before she was one year old. 

Roseanna got sick and died before she was 30. In 1881, Johnse married Nancy McCoy, who was Roseanna’s cousin. In the Hatfields & McCoys miniseries, Nancy marries Johnse to get back at him. The moonshine still is where she makes him tell her things about the Hatfields, which she then tells to Bad Frank Phillips. Nancy later runs away with Phillips, making the two families hate each other more.

Johnse Hatfield’s still and cabin is an important place in the history of the Hatfields & McCoys, not just because it has to do with Johnse and Roseanna McCoy’s sad love story but also because it was a place where spying and lying happened. 

The still and cabin are gone now, but the way they are shown in the miniseries and other stories helps us understand how they were part of the Hatfield-McCoy feud. 

The still and cabin show us how complicated and hard the history and relationships between the two families were and how sadness and lying made their fight last for a long time.

The Hanging Spot of Cotton Top

The hanging of Cotton Top Hatfield in 1890 was a big thing in the feud’s history because it ended one part and started another. Seven Hatfields were guilty and had to go to jail for life, but Johnse got out early for being good. 

But both families thought that the Hatfields & McCoys feud would go on unless someone was hanged. Cotton Top Hatfield, the son of Ellison Hatfield, who was killed and who had a mental problem, was made to say he did it and was hanged. He said, “The Hatfields made me do it” before he died.

Kentucky didn’t let people see hangings, so they put a fence around the place where Cotton Top was hanged. But people still came from far away to watch from the hills. 

Now, people who go to Cotton Top’s hanging site can see where he was hanged as part of the trail that remembers the Hatfields & McCoys. 

The hanging of Cotton Top may have ended things, but it didn’t make things better. The feud had already hurt too many people and its story would last for a long time.

The Battle of Grapevine Creek 

In 1888, the Hatfields & McCoys had their last big fight at Grapevine Creek. The two families hated each other more than ever after the New Year’s Day Massacre, and the Hatfields, with Devil Anse in charge, were getting ready to attack the McCoys again. 

But the McCoys found out what they were doing and got their own group of fighters led by Bad Frank Phillips. The two groups met on the West Virginia side of Grapevine Creek, where they had a nasty and hard battle.

The Hatfields were known as good fighters, but they had a hard time against the McCoys. The McCoys got around them and caught many of them. 

The men who were caught and those who were arrested for the New Year’s Day Massacre and the Battle of Grapevine Creek had to go to court, and people all over the world heard about the Hatfields & McCoys. The two families felt a lot of pressure to stop the feud, and they didn’t have any big fights after that.

About Hatfields & McCoys

Hatfields & McCoys is a 2012 American three-part Western television miniseries based on the Hatfield–McCoy feud produced by History channel.

The two-hour episodes aired on May 28, 29, and 30, 2012.

The series focuses on the generational family feud between two families, namely the Hatfields from West Virginia and the McCoys from Kentucky in the 1800s. The cast includes Kevin Costner, Bill Praxton, Matt Barr, Tom Berenger and Andrew Howard among others.