A beloved band during the 1930s, this group was recorded by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress, and was for a generation a favorite at the Old Fiddler’s Convention.

The group was managed by Dr. W.P. Davis, who sometimes played autoharp, and neighbors Davy Crockett Ward and Alexander “Eck” Dunford were the fiddlers.  The droll-voiced Dunford told humorous stories, and gave the group its self-deprecating name. (A “bogtrotter” was once a term for an Ulster Irish immigrant, and Dunford was of that ancestry.)

Dunford was earlier a glass-plate photographer, and became a fine oral historian of the area, as well as a beloved figure.

Fields Ward, Crockett's son, played the guitar and did most of the singing, and Crockett's brother Wade Ward was usually the banjo player.  Wade played a three-finger style to complement the singing in the band but he was to become one of the greatest clawhammer players, and his renditions of many classics are still cherished.

There are almost 200 cuts by the Bogtrotters at the Library of Congress, and Galax old-timers recall them with great affection. A contemporary old-time band from Galax, The Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters, honor them by using their name and some of their tunes and songs.