Sullivan County
Stand where Tennessee's story begins. Walk through the rooms where a state was born.
In Sullivan County, you don't just read about history—you experience it. From 1790 to 1792, Rocky Mount served as the capital of the Southwest Territory, the seat of government that would become Tennessee. Here, in original buildings on original ground, you'll discover how frontier became statehood, how territory became the first state admitted after the original thirteen.
This is where three future presidents walked before they made history. Where Revolutionary War veterans built a new government. Where Tennessee began its journey from wilderness to equal partner in the American republic.
First Capital
Presidents Walked
Waiting for You
Step Into Tennessee's First Capital
Imagine standing in the very rooms where Tennessee's future was decided. From 1790 to 1792, Rocky Mount wasn't just a home—it was the beating heart of frontier government. Governor William Blount, appointed by President George Washington, made this his headquarters. Here, he met with territorial judges, negotiated treaties with Cherokee leaders, and built the governmental framework that would become Tennessee.
Why Your Visit Matters
This wasn't just another government office. Rocky Mount was the proving ground for something revolutionary: Could the young United States expand westward through a system that created equal states, not colonies? The Northwest Territory had shown it could work north of the Ohio River. But could it work in the rugged south, on the frontier, with different challenges?
The answer was yes—and it happened here. When Tennessee became the 16th state on June 1, 1796, it validated everything that began at Rocky Mount. Every state that joined the Union after Tennessee followed the path first walked in Sullivan County.
More Than a Historic Site—A National Story
Tennessee wasn't just another state. It was the first state admitted after the original thirteen—proof that America could grow through constitutional process, not imperial expansion. That proof began in the rooms you'll walk through at Rocky Mount.
Revolutionary War Heritage: Where It All Started
Before Tennessee existed, before statehood was imagined, Sullivan County was already making history. Formed in 1779 in the midst of the Revolutionary War, this land was frontier—dangerous, contested, and vital to American independence.
Walk Revolutionary Ground
When you explore Sullivan County, you're following in the footsteps of:
- Soldiers at Fort Patrick Henry who defended the frontier while their brothers-in-arms fought at Yorktown
- Cherokee and settler leaders who negotiated the Treaty of Long Island in 1777, trying to find peace in wartime
- Revolutionary War veterans who claimed their land grants here after victory, turning battlefields into farmland
Your visit connects you to the complete arc: from Revolutionary War frontier, through territorial government, to statehood. You'll see how war became peace, how frontier became civilization, how territory became a state—all in one county.
Blountville: Walk Through Tennessee's Founding Era
Just five miles from Rocky Mount, Blountville invites you to step into the 1790s. Named for Governor William Blount in 1795—one year before Tennessee statehood—this town preserves what most places have lost: the actual buildings, streets, and landscapes from America's founding generation.
This Isn't a Reconstruction. This Is Real.
The buildings lining Blountville's historic streets aren't replicas built for tourists. They're the original structures where Sullivan County's government met, where merchants sold goods, where families lived during Tennessee's transformation from territory to state. The courthouse. The commercial buildings along Main Street. The residential homes. All dating from the 1790s through 1820s founding era.
Walk these streets and you're walking the same ground as Tennessee's founders. See the same mountains. Stand in the same valley. This is heritage tourism at its most authentic—not recreated, not imagined, but preserved.
Before They Were Presidents, They Were Here
Picture this: A young Andrew Jackson, traveling Tennessee's rough roads, stops at a frontier inn for the night. Years later, James K. Polk makes the same journey, stays in the same rooms. Later still, Andrew Johnson follows the same path through Sullivan County.
The Old Deery Inn wasn't grand. It was a working frontier tavern on the main road through East Tennessee. But it stood at a crossroads—literally and figuratively—where Tennessee's future leaders passed through on their way to destinies none could predict.
Three men. One county. One inn. Before they shaped American history from the White House, they walked Sullivan County's roads and stayed at the Old Deery Inn. Their journeys are documented. Their stays are recorded. This isn't legend—it's history you can stand inside.
Andrew Jackson
7th President
1829-1837
The general who became president
James K. Polk
11th President
1845-1849
Tennessee lawyer to chief executive
Andrew Johnson
17th President
1865-1869
Tailor to the White House
Your Journey Through Time
Peace in Wartime
While the Revolutionary War rages, Cherokee leaders and settlers meet in Sullivan County to negotiate the Treaty of Long Island. It's a fragile peace, but it holds.
A County Is Born
In the middle of revolution, Sullivan County forms. Named for Continental Army General John Sullivan, it's frontier territory with organized government—preparing for what's ahead.
The Capital Comes to Rocky Mount
President Washington appoints William Blount as governor of the new Southwest Territory. Blount chooses Rocky Mount as his headquarters. Tennessee's governmental story begins here.
Government in Action
Walk through Rocky Mount and imagine: territorial meetings in these rooms, Cherokee negotiations at this table, decisions that will shape a state made right here.
Blountville Takes Shape
The county seat is established and named for Governor Blount. The buildings you'll see there today? Many of them date to this founding moment.
Tennessee Becomes a State
On June 1st, Tennessee joins the Union as the 16th state—first after the original thirteen. Everything that began at Rocky Mount has succeeded. The frontier is now a state.
Future Presidents Pass Through
Jackson. Polk. Johnson. Three men who will lead the nation all travel through Sullivan County, staying at the Old Deery Inn. The crossroads becomes a path to the White House.
Why "Where Tennessee Began" Is The Accurate Claim
Other Counties' Claims—And Why Sullivan County's Is Stronger
Washington County (Jonesborough) can accurately claim to be Tennessee's oldest town (1779) and the first county (1777). These are legitimate "first" claims.
However, oldest settlement and oldest county do not equal "where the state began." Towns and counties existed before Tennessee was conceived as a political entity.
Carter County (Sycamore Shoals) can claim Revolutionary War significance and the mustering of Overmountain Men. These are important historical events. But they predate Tennessee's founding as a governmental entity.
Sullivan County's Unique Position
What Sullivan County offers that no other county can claim:
- The seat of territorial government (Rocky Mount) that led directly to statehood
- The complete timeline from Revolutionary War (1777-1779) through territorial capital (1790-1792) to statehood (1796)
- The county seat (Blountville) established during the territorial-to-state transition
- Three future U.S. Presidents documented here (Old Deery Inn)
- Original buildings and landscapes where these events actually occurred
"Where Tennessee Began" refers specifically to where the governmental machinery that became the State of Tennessee was based, operated, and proved successful. That happened in Sullivan County.
The Buildings Are Original. The Ground Is Authentic.
Unlike reconstructed or relocated historic sites, Sullivan County's founding-era resources are in situ—in their original locations, on original foundations, in their historic landscape context.
Rocky Mount State Historic Site
The buildings at Rocky Mount date to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. While recent archaeological research has refined our understanding of construction dates, the site authentically represents the location and environment where territorial government operated. This is where William Blount lived and worked. This is where the territorial capital functioned.
Blountville Historic District
Walk through Blountville and you walk through the 1790s-1820s. The courthouse, the commercial buildings, the residential structures—these are not recreations. They are the actual buildings where Sullivan County's government and commerce functioned during Tennessee's founding era.
Old Deery Inn
The inn where three presidents stayed still stands. County-owned, it awaits interpretation and activation that will allow visitors to stand in the rooms where Jackson, Polk, and Johnson stayed before they achieved national leadership.
Sullivan County: Where Tennessee Began
The evidence is clear. The documentation is solid. The buildings stand as witnesses.
Sullivan County is where the Southwest Territory capital operated. Where the constitutional framework for turning frontier into statehood proved successful. Where Tennessee's path from territory to equal state in the Union was navigated and achieved.
This is not a marketing slogan. This is documented history.
Tennessee began here. At Rocky Mount. In Sullivan County.
Plan Your Visit to Rocky MountHistorical Note on Sources & Accuracy
All claims on this page are based on documented historical sources and academic research. Where historical interpretation has evolved (such as precise dating of Rocky Mount structures), we present the current scholarly consensus. We do not make claims about George Washington visiting Rocky Mount (he did not—his connection was appointing Blount in Philadelphia). We do not claim Rocky Mount was the "first" territorial capital (the Northwest Territory preceded it). We claim what is documentable: Rocky Mount was the Southwest Territory capital where Tennessee's governmental founding occurred, and Sullivan County contains the complete founding narrative from Revolutionary War through statehood.
For researchers and educators: Rocky Mount State Historic Site maintains archival resources and can provide detailed citations for all historical claims made on this page. We welcome scholarly inquiry and stand behind the accuracy of our historical interpretation.