PETROS, Tenn. – With the myriad detailed planning and groundwork now mostly done, development of a tourist attraction at the site of a once-notorious prison will be moving forward soon.
But Brian May, one of the principals of the Brushy Mountain Group, wouldn’t be pinned down on a timetable for converting the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary into a huge moonshine distillery complete with such attractions as a museum, prison tours, RV park and music festival venue.
“We couldn’t do anything until we had ink on paper,” said May, one of three Chattanooga developers spearheading the project, which has involved numerous agreements.
Razor wire loops over the outer wall of Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015.May, with a background in advertising and branding, has joined with entrepreneur Pete Waddington and former Chattanooga mayor Jon Kinsey, who redeveloped Knoxville’s Market Square, on the project. After the group was formed, it took 18 months and more than 40 trips to Nashville to get the state’s go-ahead to transfer the property to Morgan County.
Other details, from utility changeovers to where to place the RV park, are still works in progress.