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YANCEY’S TAVERN
The Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt
square hangs on the barn located a short distance from
Yancey’s Tavern. Both the tavern and barn are located on
Island Road, Tennessee’s first wagon road, built
in 1761, and oldest road still in use. The square was
painted and constructed by Blountville artist, Anita
Long, and her family and was inspired by a fragment of a
quilt found behind a wall upstairs in Yancey’s Tavern
during restoration. The artist carefully replicated
the patterns of the 1920s dress fabrics in the quilt
fragment, which was done in the “yo-yo” technique. It
is believed to have been made by Mrs. John Spahr
(1858-1936) or by her stepdaughter, Miss Mary Spahr
(1886-1962), the last resident of Yancey’s Tavern.
The Yancey’s Tavern story begins in 1780, when it was
built by James Hollis. Here, he hosted the second
meeting of the Sullivan County Commissioners. The
County Commissioners continued to meet here, as well as
at other homes, until the land for the county seat of
Blountville was donated in 1792.
In 1784, a tavern operator from Abingdon, Virginia,
John Yancey, bought the Hollis house and opened it as
Yancey’s Tavern, which remained in operation well into
the 19th century. By the 1840s, ownership
had passed to John Shaver, and the place was known as
Shaver’s Inn. It was a regular stop for the stage from
Abingdon as it was 10 miles from Blountville’s Deery Inn
and 10 miles on to Kingsport’s Netherland Inn. Horses
were changed every 10 miles, and drivers every 20 miles.
The Eden’s Ridge post office, (which had previously
been at Exchange Place) was located here from 1842 until
1866. It was during the Shaver period that the hewn
logs were covered with poplar siding; however, the hewn
and pegged rafters are still visible. During this time
the plank poplar paneling was installed in the east
upstairs room, and lath and plaster with chair rail
updated the first floor. It is believed that the large
fireplace mantels date from the Shaver period as well.
Original plank doors with wrought iron strap hinges
remain unchanged.
In 1889, John Spahr, from Southwest Virginia, bought
the house and 230 acres from the Shaver family. The
house became the Spahr residence, and John built the
present barn in 1903. Standing on a cut stone
foundation, the enormous structure’s hewn timbers,
marked with Roman numerals and joined with wooden pegs,
appear to have come from an earlier barn. Spahr kept a
detailed ledger of materials and costs during
construction. Spahr Farm continued until the early 1950s
when East Lawn Cemetery was founded. The cemetery now
covers most of the farm. The only major change to the
house after 1889 was the John Spahr’s addition of the
dining room to connect the separate kitchen to the
house. Spahr’s daughter, Mary, was the last of the
family to occupy the house. After her death in 1962,
the house remained vacant for the next 42 years.
Minimal maintenance was done to the house during Mary’s
occupancy as well as in later years by her heirs and
nieces, Dorothy and Ruth Wexler. The house was placed
on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Following the death of Ruth Wexler, the Sarah Spahr
Wexler estate auction was held in September 2004. The
barn was purchased by Dr. G.A. Agett, who made necessary
repairs and did a badly needed cleaning out of old hay.
The house was purchased by Rann Vaulx, who restored it
for the pride and pleasure of the citizens of Sullivan
County and the State of Tennessee. He furnished it with
older reproductions of the late 18th
century. The corner cupboard, blanket chest, and dining
room table are early 19th century pieces.
John Spahr’s barn ledger and the framed fragment of
quilt are on display. Shown by appointment, Yancey’s
Tavern is available for meetings of groups dedicated to
historic preservation, patriotism, or genealogy and for
church socials. Forty can be seated in three rooms for
catered or covered dish luncheons or dinners.
In
2006, Vaulx purchased the Spahr barn from Dr. Agett.
The barn with its quilt square is featured on the cover
of the 2006 Kingsport Sprint telephone directory.
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