In the late 1800s, when coal mining and railroads were rapidly expanding, the Louisville and Nashville railroad company cut through rock formations between Appalachia and Big Stone Gap to create the Bee Rock Tunnel and the Callahan Tunnel. During this transient period, local men and laborers from other countries were hired to construct the tunnels, with work crews often changing from day to day. Laborers, company personnel, and train crews repeatedly reported seeing a small creature-like being inhabiting the woods and caves in the area between Appalachia and Big Stone Gap. Fleeting glimpses led people to describe it as short, stocky, and very ugly. Workers camping along the Powell River often heard a shrill voice from the woods at night calling, "Come help me, please come help me," but many were too afraid to investigate. As recently as 1958, the Luntsford family, who lived on the point above Bee Rock, reported hearing cries for help from the woods near the tunnel and seeing an extremely grotesque face peering through their windows, prompting Frederick Luntsford to rush outside and fire his shotgun as a warning. Train engineers traveling that stretch of track also reported momentary glimpses of a small ugly being darting across the rails in front of locomotives. The mystery of the creature known as the Bee Rock Troll has endured.