My name is Dustin Blackson, and in March 2022, I started Historic Explorations. As a child, I was rummaging through my grandfather’s old documents where I found a list of names with the same surname as mine, starting my interest in genealogy. This interest grew over to history and was amplified by the upbringing I received from my grandparents as well as the stories they told me growing up. Particularly, I am interested in the history of coal mining and the golden days of Hollywood entertainment. My interest in coal mining stems from my grandfather being a coal miner and growing up in the coalfields of the Appalachia Mountains. Furthermore, my interest in Hollywood entertainment stems from watching old movies and TV shows with my grandfather.

As an adult, I started taking an active interest in history, attending Civil War reenactments and exploring local museums for a few years until I decided to enroll in college. After my grandfather died from cancer in 2017, I decided to travel and, in doing so, reignited my interest in history visiting museums and historical sites. I started learning and exploring other areas of history I had never seriously looked into before, notably the American Revolution, thus joining the Sons of the American Revolution.

Once I noticed the trend on social media of sharing the content of places people visit and discussing what they’re passionate about, I started Historic Explorations to share many areas of history besides entertainment history and Appalachia/coal mine history. I hope that everyone enjoys and learns from my content. You can find Historic Explorations on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.