Editing Blountville, Tennessee (section)

==History==
The area that is now Blountville is thought to have been the location of a [[longhunter]] fort prior to its permanent settlement. The site of the town was part of a tract of about {{convert|600|acre|ha}} of land bought by James Brigham in 1782. In 1792 Brigham gave {{convert|30|acre|ha}} to Sullivan County for use as a county seat and established a hotel nearby.<ref name=Taylor/> Blountville was laid off as a town and established as the county seat in 1795. The county's first [[courthouse]] and jail was a log structure. In 1825 it was replaced with a brick building.<ref name="archiveshistory">{{Cite web|title=Historic Sullivan, Archives and Tourism {{!}} County History|url=http://www.historicsullivan.com/archives_history.htm|access-date=January 12, 2022|website=www.historicsullivan.com}}</ref>  By 1830, the settlement had 209 residents, two churches, six stores, two taverns, ten mechanics, one doctor, and one lawyer.<ref name=Taylor>Oliver Taylor, ''Historic Sullivan: A History of Sullivan County, Tennessee'', 1909, [https://archive.org/details/historicsullivan00tayl/page/n182 <!-- pg=137 --> Chapter XIX, Blountville] (pages 137-148), The King Printing Co., Sullivan County (Tenn.), 330 pages</ref>

On the afternoon of September 22, 1863, during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the town was the scene of the four-hour-long [[Battle of Blountville]]. During a major expedition into [[East Tennessee]] and [[Southwest Virginia]], a [[Union Army]] unit attacked [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] troops at Blountville. The town was shelled in the fighting and the courthouse was burned in the battle, which forced the Confederates to withdraw.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.historicsullivan.com/events_2010_06_19.htm |title=Sullivan County Civil War Days |access-date=September 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007033748/http://historicsullivan.com/events_2010_06_19.htm |archive-date=October 7, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The courthouse was rebuilt within the old walls in 1866. The current courthouse dates from a major construction that was done in 1920; it also includes additions made in 1958.<ref name=archiveshistory/>

If Blountville were an [[incorporated town]], it would qualify as the second oldest municipality in Tennessee (second only to [[Jonesborough, Tennessee|Jonesborough]]); however, it was unincorporated at one point in order to avoid having redundant government services for such a small area and population. This unique status has led to some odd results, including a lawsuit in which it was ruled that neighboring [[Kingsport, Tennessee|Kingsport]] was not allowed to annex areas of Sullivan County within a defined distance of the courthouse, in effect ensuring that the county seat could not be annexed out of existence.{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}}

===Historic district===
Several of Blountville's surviving 18th and 19th century buildings are included in an historic district listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>Carolyn Sakowski, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rLBrUbj02IcC&pg=PA79 Touring the East Tennessee Backroads]'', pages 79-82</ref> The Deery Inn was built in the late 1700s and consists of three buildings: a two-story [[log home]], a three-story stone house and a two-story frame building. All buildings are next to each other and attached. The home is a private residence.<ref name="Finch2009">{{cite book|author=Jackie Sheckler Finch|title=Tennessee: A Guide to Unique Places|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NoKR0DIwgsAC|access-date=November 22, 2011|date=July 1, 2009|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=978-0-7627-5057-3|page=6}}</ref>