Photo of Wynnewood historic stage coach inn. It is a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies. The building is a long log structure with the right side longer than the left. There is a dog run that runs through it. There are ten upper windows aand seven lower windows that can be seen. There is a walkway that leads to the dog run and stairs that go up to the opening. There is a door to the left and the right. The lawn is a bright green to the left and white of the walkway and there are no trees in the picture except one in the far distance on the right behind the building. You can only see the very top branches over the top of the building. There are three chimneys one to the far right, one to the far left and one on the right of center where the original building stopped before they added on to it. It is an article by the rosevinecottagegirls.com

Wynnewood

History, Travel / By
 

Wynnewood – Its Healing History

Contents hide
1 Wynnewood – Its Healing History
1.1 Wynnewood – The Castalian Springs Inn
1.2 Wynnewood – The Castalian Springs Hotel

 

Wynnewood is just one of the many amazing places to visit in Tennessee. Located in Castilian Springs, Tennessee. Wynnewood is most likely the largest 19th-century log structure constructed in the area during the year 1828. 

 

 

Wynnewood – The Castalian Springs Inn


The area was a great woods but there was a road that went through that people would take to go through and it would be the perfect spot for a stagecoach stop Mr Wynn and his wife thought. So, Wynnewood was built by A. R. Wynne, William Cage, and Stephen Roberts as a stagecoach inn with giant logs that were felled there in the woods of Castalian Springs. It was called the Castalian Springs Inn and it welcomed the travel-weary people that were going across Tennessee which was frontier territory with a hot meal and clean bed and time off from the hard stage coach seats and bumpy roadways that plagued the early Tennessee travelers as well as attracting people needing its healing modalities.

 

Imagine the work that went into the building and establishing this place. You can almost hear the axes hard at work chopping down the trees. 

The spot that they chose to build Wynnewood is on top of a hill with a beautiful view and near a mineral spring. The mineral springs at Wynnewood are part of a sulfur lick found in 1772 by Isaac Bledsoe a Virginia long hunter.
At the time, sulphur springs were found to have great healing properties and were useful for skin conditions like rashes, eczema, dry skin, arthritic pain and benefit joint mobility. It improved circulation and aided in detoxifying the body. It has a high silica level so it is also good for the hair, skin and nails.  They found it good for the kidneys as well. 

 

 

In those days people began to travel to the sulfur springs for the healing elements.  Wealthy ones would travel great distances to enjoy their peaceful surroundings and healing they needed but others could not afford to travel that far. Wynnewood was close to the sulpur springs and was close to the main road so they found it was a perfect place to have a healing resort for people to “take the waters” to have the cure to their ails that were not just for the wealthy, but the everyday sort of people that also needed a healing touch.  

 

 

 
Cheyenne and Grandma at Wynnewood
 

The sulfur water has natural antibiotic and anti-fungal properties in it as well so it would be used for wound care as well. The water would be bathed in and taken internally for healing and restoration of the body and the peaceful area was healing to the spirit.

 

 

By 1834 the Wynne family became the sole owners and they made Wynnewood their home. They added on to it and built more dwellings for the guests coming in for treatments and they continued until the beginning of the Civil War that saw the doors of Wynnewood closed. 

 

Wynnewood – The Castalian Springs Hotel

 

Wynnewood did not open fully again until the surviving Wynne sisters took the property and leased it out to a man named Mr. Blakemore. He used the place as a resort and had cabins built on the property for visitors and they offered fishing, billiards and a sort of bowling. He built a dancing pavilion on the property.

By 1900,  there were hack wagons that were pulled by donkey Mr. Blakemore’s donkeys that would travel to and from the train station twice a day to pick up guests to the Hotel from nearby Gallatin, TN for 50 cents a passenger. The stage coach still arrived at the hotel each day as well delivering patrons to the hotel. The guests would pay from 7 to 9 dollars a week to stay at the hotel and enjoy its amenities. 

 

 

 

Wynnewood is a beautiful place to stop with your family to check out the local history and enjoy some of the beautiful scenery of Tennessee. Also a great stop for homeschoolers! This was such a gorgeous day to be out and about.

You can tell we have been going here for a while. It was a great experience and brought to life our history lessons.

 Here is the building after the repairs to it were finished.

 

 

 

Watch that first step! It’s a Doozie! They had torn out the porch and were preparing it for re-building.

 
Look at the lines of the wood on this toward the middle of the building. Kind of makes me dizzy a little bit. 

 

 

UPDATE:

In 2008 a tornado ripped through Wynnewood destroying part of the structure, it has since been rebuilt The building above was before the tornado.

Here is a photo we took just after the tornado.  You can see how much damage that it had. So sad. We were unable to get any closer to the building as the road was covered in giant trees and logs from the building were all over the place.

 

 
 
If you want to visit the Wynnewood Stage Coach Inn or want more information go to
http://www.bledsoeslick.com/wynnewood.htm
 
 
Check out these other places in Beautiful Tennessee Below:

Tennessee Waterfalls

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