Mountain Cur History


Mt. Cur History
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        Mt. Curs were the pioneer dogs of the southern Kentucky and Tennessee mountains. It has been said that without Mt. Cur Dogs the pioneers could have never been able to settle in these mountains.

        Mt. Curs were a necessity for the frontier family. They guarded the family against wild animals and other dangers and caught, treed, and holed game for the family's food. Mt. Curs were held in high regard by the pioneers and few were sold out of ones family.

        It is believed that the Mt. Cur came from Europe along with their owners who came to America seeking new homes. It has been established through family history and research that Spanish Explorers brought the bob-tailed curs to the South. Hernando de Soto brought bob-tail
curs to drive the hogs and provide protection against wild animals, while he explored the South and later discovered the Mississippi River.

        Until World War II, the Mt. Cur was still an economic asset to the mountain people. Their Mt. Curs helped feed the family and many of these mountain people bought food, clothes, and other necessities with money from furs caught by their Mt. Curs. Then came the War and the industrial revolution, making jobs available in the Cities. As more mountain people became moved to the Cities to become factory workers the Mt. Cur  became scarce in the late 1940's.

        However the Ole' mountain men did not forget the Mt. Cur. Four men have been credited with saving the Mt. Cur from extinction, even though many Mt. Curs bloodlines carry very little if any of the blood of the old pioneer Mt. Curs. These men were Hugh Stephens and Woody Huntsman of Kentucky, Dewey Ledbetter of Tennessee, and Carl McConnell of Virginia.

        In 1956, these men founded the Original Mountain Cur Breeders' Association. Soon after, much controversy over the breed standard caused Hugh Stephen and Carl McConnell to leave the OMCBA and they founded the Stephen Stock Mt. Cur Association (Registered only long- tailed little black and white dogs).

        Later the Tennessee Treeing Brindle Association ( Registering any long-tailed brindle dogs), and the Kemmer Stock Breeders Association, who registers any and all OMCBA registered dogs, regardless of bloodlines.

The Mountain View Cur was developed by selecting only the very best certified tree dogs out of a certain pure Mt. Cur bloodline. This is why they are know as the "thoroughbreds" of the cur dog world. No other Mt Cur Strain has ever been bred under their strict selection and breeding standards.






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