Kingsport Spirit

What’s wrong with this picture? How could Sullivan County be established in 1779 when Tennessee wasn’t created until 1796? That’s right, Sullivan and 6 other counties were originally formed by North Carolina! It’s the same basic reason why the University of Tennessee was established in 1794 as Blount College, before Tennessee was a state.

The common denominator is William Blount, the first territorial governor.

Where was the first capital? Rocky Mount (in Piney Flats, Sullivan County).

Who rushed to gain favor with the territorial governor?

In 1795, Sullivan’s County named its county seat “Blountville,” the same year “Blount County” and “Maryville” (named for his wife) were formed.

I’m excited to be working with the Sullivan 250 Committee. Great partners across the county. We recently created this 12 x 16 poster to complement the state’s poster (https://tinyurl.com/TN-250). They look beautiful framed side by side. We’re planning to give away 250 copies at our upcoming event at Rocky Mount State Historic Site. Watch for announcements!

The poster captures the essence of our county during the American Revolution or shortly thereafter.

And mark your calendars for 6 pm, April 9, at the Kingsport Center for Higher Education (300 W Market St) to hear ETSU History Professor Dr. Tom Lee talk about The Overmountain Men and how our region helped change the course of the American Revolution.