DEFINITION: A nationally significant historic place, so designated by the Secretary of the Interior because it has exceptional value in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States.
A large bronze plaque attesting to Wynnewood’s status as a National Historic Landmark is affixed to the inn’s back wall along the gallery. Of the more than 85,000 US sites on the National Register of Historic Places, fewer than 2,500 are designated as National Historic Landmarks.
Wynnewood State Historic Site is one of only thirty Registered National Historic Landmarks in the state of Tennessee.
In many ways, Wynnewood State Historic Site is a uniquely well preserved location that protects an area in Castalian Springs associated with the beginnings of colonization of the Old Southwest. It was a destination point for the majority of westward travelers from 1780-1830. Wynnewood is an exceptional body of architecture reflecting the vernacular style of the frontier period. The site exists today as a group of six original log buildings centered around the historic sulphur mineral springs. The Circa 1830 main house has functioned as a mineral springs resort, as a stagecoach rest stop, and was the operational center of the Wynne family farm for over 140 years.
In 1971 the State of Tennessee purchased Wynnewood from George Winchester Wynne, grandson of A.R. and Almira Wynne and the last descendant still living in the ancestral home. It became Wynnewood State Historic Site and opened to the public as a house museum. It is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and managed by Bledsoe’s Lick Historical Association. The entire site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972.
The inn was severely damaged by a tornado in January 2008. Its roof was ripped off and the building shifted on its foundation. A good number of the century-old trees surrounding the place were demolished. Since that time, Wynnewood has been accurately restored by the State of Tennessee and reopened to the public on July 4, 2012.
