Yancey’s Tavern

Yancey’s Tavern is a Tennessee historical marker in Kingsport., Sullivan County.

6290 Chestnut Ridge Road, Kingsport.

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In 1779, James Hollis, Sr. erected this house on Island Road, Tennessee's first wagon road, built in 1761. The Sullivan County Court met here from 1780 to 1792. John Yancey purchased the home in 1782, using it for Yancey's Tavern. By the 1840s, it was known as Shaver's Inn, a stage stop halfway between Deery Inn and Netherland Inn. From 1842 to 1866, John Shaver maintained Eden's Ridge Post Office here. In 1889, John Spahr purchased the house with 230 acres, and it became the residence for his farm.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1755 · (Canada, Louisiane et Terres Angloises. Southeast section) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1776 · Map Of North And South Carolina With Their Indian Frontiers. (Northern Section) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Kentuckey. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1797 · Tennassee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

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On the National Register nearby

Yancey's Tavern230 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.