(Every prior issue of Floyd Virginia Magazine)

By Vickie Holt

This year, Floyd Virginia Magazine celebrates fifteen years of serving the people and the businesses of Floyd! From those who planted the seeds, to those who didn’t want to see it end, to those who continue on, the history of the magazine is one that encompasses what is best about Floyd, Virginia. It was born of community pride and sustained by community love and cooperation. It has come to be not only a promotional hub for local businesses, and not only a comprehensive resource for visitors, but also a lasting volume celebrating the people, history, and culture of Floyd. And it all began with a shared notion.

Continue reading →

(Left to right: Carolyn Akers, Lois Akers, Glynda Woolums, and Joana Shelor)

by Colleen E. Grecus

Located at the corner of North Locust Street and Penn Avenue, poised atop a hill across from the Floyd Historical Society, is one of the more charming gems to be found in scenic Floyd, Virginia.

Deriving its name from the building’s historic beginnings, the legendary Schoolhouse Fabrics has been serving the community of Floyd and its visitors since the early 1980’s.
First commissioned by Henry Dillon in 1911, the brick structure was built on the site of the 1846 Jacksonville Academy, which had been established by Governor Floyd, himself.  It is said that many of the bricks used in the new structure were part of the original Academy!
The new building began serving as a grade school for the county upon its completion in 1913.  Built in the Georgian Revival style, defined by balance and symmetry, the schoolhouse features large and arched windows, dormers, and simple columns to draw attention to the large stoop and entryway.
It operated as Floyd High School until 1939, and later, Floyd Elementary School until 1962.  Needing more space, the schools moved again into bigger, newer buildings.  This left the old school building vacant and available.
Continue reading →

A passion for cars was instilled in Rob Favre at an early age. Some of his earliest memories include working on his dad’s race cars in the shop and getting to work at his dad’s auto parts store.

He continued his interest with an auto mechanic class in high school, and during his college years, Favre worked with used cars at a location in Blacksburg. Shortly afterward, he started working for car dealerships.

The passion he has for cars, however, is not limited to just selling and fixing. After all, cars are for driving! And since 2008, Rob Favre has been getting behind the wheel and driving…really fast! With his race team, Buffalo Mountain Motorsports, Favre has raced dirt late models regionally across Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. With twenty-three total wins, Favre is also a former Wythe Raceway champion. He also received Rookie of the Year.
Continue reading →

by G.V. Carlsson

A story that starts in seventeenth-century England, then crosses paths with one of today’s top country musical artists and ends with new life breathed into a classic landmark is certainly one that calls for a big, cozy chair, a mug of everyone’s favorite hot beverage, and a bowl of popcorn!

In 1654, a man named James Tugwell immigrated from England to the Virginia Colony. There, he lived in Lancaster County before finally receiving a land patent. He then settled in Middlesex County with his wife, Mary. The two of them made a home in Middlesex and raised their family.

Fast-forward over a hundred years and the Tugwell family had since become the Tuggle family, and the descendants of James and Mary had done well for themselves. The family owned several hundred acres of land in what eventually became Patrick County. On that land was a particularly beautiful spot surrounding Rockcastle Creek. This area became known as Tuggle’s Gap, and it is still known by that name to this very day.
Continue reading →

When the Nanfelts moved their family to Floyd County in 2020, Sharon was not expecting to build a natural playground on their small family farm. Yet, with the ongoing pandemic and the difficulty it brought for her children making friends, that’s exactly what she found herself doing. She chopped away at tough sod for weeks on end, tilled cow pasture into winding garden beds, and installed an enormous playground slide onto the hill…all within just a handful of months after arriving.

“I didn’t know I would build this business,” said Sharon, “but I did know that my children needed open spaces and to experience the magic of their own imaginations. I knew that I would create things, grow things, and build things to get them outside and to bring children to meet mine.”
Continue reading →

People who settled in the Floyd County area began holding religious services by 1795, and Pine Creek Primitive Baptist Church is one of the earliest churches established. It was founded in 1803 when four members of Salem Church – also known as Head of the River – were dismissed to form Pine Creek Primitive Baptist. They established the church just off the road leading to Spangler’s Mill. The initial property conveyance occurred in 1804 when Thomas Goodson conveyed five acres for the establishment of a church and graveyard at the site.

The current building is actually the second church constructed at this site. Due to age and fire, the first building was replaced around 1881, and has remained relatively unchanged since. However, the original stone foundation was replaced with cinderblock, and the roof was replaced at some point with corrugated metal.
Continue reading →

(From left to right: Robert Nickell, John McEnHill, and Joanna Nickell)

Former Chamber of Commerce leader, John McEnhill, is still somewhat amazed at how he ended up owning Buffalo Mountain Ziplines. He had announced plans to retire from his position as Executive Director in 2020 to pursue a business concept, but those plans were put on hold during the pandemic as he pivoted toward helping the Chamber and its members navigate the pandemic challenges.

He had been considering options for owning and operating a business for several years, but the pandemic also impacted his business concept, so he began pursuing other options. Eventually, McEnhill put in several purchase offers for commercial real estate in Floyd County.

“These offers helped clarify what was or wasn’t a good fit for me,” McEnhill recalls. “I had looked at the Buffalo Mountain Ziplines listing several times over several months until one day something clicked, and I asked myself, why not?”
Continue reading →

Located at 880 Little Valley Road in Carroll County, within Meadows of Dan, is an historic treasure that is getting a second chance to shine.

It was during the early 1900’s when Carroll County’s schoolboard recognized the need for additional schoolhouses to serve the growing community. The project eventually saw the construction of several schools, built on carefully selected sites, so children would not have to walk more than five miles from their homes along the dirt roads and animal trails. One of these sites, located at milepost 185 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, became known as the Little Valley Schoolhouse.

Construction on the schoolhouse began in 1929 when the Jessup family donated the land to the School Board of Carroll County. In turn, Carroll County provided funds to build the schoolhouse. Local residents provided the needed labor and a nearby sawmill provided the building materials, most of which were sourced from local oak and chestnut trees. It was a genuine community effort, meant to provide opportunities for the children of the families living there.
Continue reading →

On March first of 2022, the quietness of the predawn hours was interrupted by the sound of a tiny bleat. A wooly brown dairy sheep named Siren had given birth to an adorable ram lamb. The precious baby was black with a white head and white socks, pink nose, and floppy black ears. He was also the first of nine lambs to be born at Floyd EcoVillage.

Large fields, bright skies, and friendly visitors are but a few of the experiences these tiny floofs can look forward to during their time on the seventy-five-acre property of the EcoVillage. There, they will be in the company of sixteen other sheep, two rams and fourteen ewes, as well as two nervous but attractive cows. This happy collection will be kept and cared for in the paddock located between the earth-bermed lodge and the pond, overlooked by the Event Center. Guests are encouraged to visit the animals while walking the trails but are not allowed to enter the pens without a staff member.
Continue reading →

Kelly Phillips has been interested in photography since her eighth birthday, when her parents gifted her a Kodak 110 cartridge camera. Like a flash, Kelly was snapping and shooting everything in sight. Anything that caught her eye, or her interest, ended up on film. She often wonders if her parents ever regretted having to develop so much film! But by the end of that first summer, she had photographed friends, flowers, leaves, interesting moss, bark on the trees, and views from her treehouse. “I photographed everything I saw,” says Kelly. “Capturing all the little details of my yard.”

During her high school years, however, photography had to take a back seat to the many after-school activities that kept her busy. She would have loved for her high school to have a photography course, or even a club. It wouldn’t be until after graduation, however, that Kelly was able to dive back into the fascinating art of capturing a moment, an expression, a perspective, or even a detail, then letting the whole world see it through her eyes.
Continue reading →