Blountville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,959 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sullivan CountyGR6 and is the only Tennessee county seat not to be an incorporated city or town. If Blountville were an actual town, it would qualify as one of the oldest in the state. However, it was unincorporated at one point in order to avoid having redundant government services for such a small area and population. This unique status has led to some odd results, including a lawsuit in which is was ruled that neighboring Kingsport was not allowed to annex areas of Sullivan County within a defined distance of the courthouse, in effect ensuring that the county seat could not be annexed out of existence.
Despite its small size, Blountville is the home to the Tri-Cities Regional Airport primarily because of its central location between Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol, TN/VA. Boone Lake, a local summertime recreation area, is also located in the Blountville area. NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki died in an airplane crash near Blountville.
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