Hollow allows you to explore the rural communities of McDowell County, West Virginia through an interactive documentary featuring the stories of residents who live there.

The Story of America

The interactive documentary Hollow tells the story of McDowell County, West Virginia but it symbolizes hundreds of small town stories that are spread all over the United Stats. This southern West Virginia county was once home to nearly 100,000 residents and went by the nickname of “little New York” because of its varied ethnicity – Now days, it’s 22,000. It’s about small towns facing changes beyond their control, about challenges and triumphs of every size. The Hollow project aims to shed positive light on McDowell County and kick-start an effort to revitalize the region’s economic, social, and cultural identity.

Documenting with HTML5…

Hollow is an interactive, new-media project directed and organized by West Virginia University alumnus Elaine McMillion, who was born and raised in Logan County, West Virginia, and experienced the boom-and-bust economy on her’s and her family’s flash. It’s a spectacular HTML5 experience (optimized for Google Chrome) on-which you scroll down beautifully curated images and unlike typical documentaries, it is broken into many segments. You can explore this corner of America through the stories of over 30 residents who live there today and tells the story of their home. Take a glimpse at the life of the rural communities and hear their stories, It’s the real America and deserves your attention.