(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.

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(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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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