Gatlinburg Tennessee

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Sullivan County CourthouseSullivan County Courthouse

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Sullivan County Department of Tourism
3425 Highway 126
Blountville, TN
Phone: (423) 323-4660
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Blountville

City: Blountville, TN
Region: East Tennessee
Subregion: Northeast

Beginning as a longhunter fort prior to its permanent settlement, the site of the town was part of a 600-acre tract of land bought by James Brigham in 1782. Ten years later, Brigham gave 30 acres to Sullivan County for use as a county seat and established a hotel nearby. The town was named Blountville after William Blount, the first governor of the Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio.

Blountville was a crossroads in the late 1700s, welcoming travelers headed west on the route beginning in Abingdon, Virginia and offering at least three different routes out of town. Blountville was a natural stop for stagecoaches to change drivers and horses. In only a few short years, Blountville became a major stopover on the Great Stage Road. If Blountville were incorporated, it would qualify as the second oldest municipality in Tennessee (second only to Jonesborough).