John Sullivan, the then district collector of Coimbatore, is credited for bringing the beautiful hill station of Ooty before public eye. Thus 1819, when he visited this hill station for the first time, is one of the most important years in the history of Ooty.
Some Englishmen went to Ooty in Tamil Nadu before 1819 even. In the year of 1812 Mr Keys, the Assistant Revenue Surveyor and Mc Mahon, his assistant were sent there by the district collector of Coimbatore. They were the first Englishmen to climb up the Nilgiris. They went up to the Kallati, the lower levels of North Ooty through Dananayakan Kottai. But they never noticed the promising beauty of the surrounding landscape.
Later in the year of 1818, J.C Whish and N.W. Kinderseley visited this place. But it was in 1819 that the route to Ooty was laid and the possibilities of Ooty as an important tourist destination was discovered.
It was John Sullivan who built the first house in Ooty. It was called the Stone House. Gradually the hill station started gaining popularity with the tourists and historical Ooty became one of the most important hill resorts in India.
Last Updated on 9/20/2011