In 1863, she said, Union troops coming from Knoxville camped just west of the current cemetery site. The next day, a battle ensued that resulted in the burning of the county courthouse by either Union action or an accident by Confederate troops. Acuff said the group also plans to restore old buildings Caldwell collected and had reconstructed behind the inn as well as rehabilitate Rutledge House next to it. Across the street is Anderson Townhouse, a log cabin circa 1792 that is owned and maintained by the county. In addition, Acuff and Houser said, in about a month they expect to get word on a grant from Tennessee that would fund restoration and renovation of the old Sheriff's House, circa 1869, which sits behind the county courthouse.
Plans are to turn it into a visitor center and museum.
And thanks to a Sullivan County Commission vote Monday, come January, Main Street in Blountville, also known as state Route 126, will be renamed the Great Stage Road to reflect the name of the route some 200 years ago. Acuff said the Great Stage Road was an offshoot of Island Road coming from Virginia. Deery built much of the inn and made it a stop on a stagecoach line he owned. Travelers during that period could come by stagecoach from Fort Blackmore, Va., to Blountville, stay at the Deery Inn, travel on to Netherland Inn in Kingsport, stay there, then get on a ferry to Knoxville, where they could catch a ride on one of Deery's two steamboats. A community fund-raiser for the Old Deery Inn project is set for Saturday starting at 4 p.m.