Phillip and Alanna Vaught in front of The Gathering at Milton
On Saturday, Oct. 13, The Gathering at Milton will celebrate its grand opening by hosting the first Milton Fall Market and Craft Fair. More than 50 different festival booths will feature baked goods, crafts, art, antiques and music from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This event serves as a new beginning for the former Milton County Store.
The Gathering at Milton team is excited about the great products and services coming to the fair. Woodworkers, designers, bakers and jewelers are eager to display their hard work and goods. Enjoy live music while you browse. The country/bluegrass band Texarkana will travel from Hendersonville to perform at the event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Surrounding churches and business in the area have offered fields and lots to use for parking space. The Gathering will also feature festivities for children, including an inflatable John Deere tractor from Tennessee Event Specialists. The Mini Creek Farm petting zoo will also be available for kids to enjoy.
The old building, formerly known as Milton County Store and as Manuel’s Cajun Country Store, holds a lot of significance in the Milton community.
How did Philip and Alanna Vaught become the new proprietors of the building?
“We joked about buying [Milton County Store] in the past,” Alanna says. “However, we were never serious.”
But the couple made the decision to buy the building after Philip stopped to check up on the store while its recent auction was underway. The Vaughts shared a vision to create a venue where the community could “gather” for multiple occasions. This, in a building once known for being a place where country music superstars would drop in, eat and often perform, during its time as Manuel’s.
“This was the heartbeat of the community, where family and friends gathered. Thinking about that is how I came up with our name,” said Alanna, an instructor with Middle Tennessee State University School of Agriculture. “We want it to continue to be the gathering place at Milton, where people come and make memories for the next 100 years.”
The undertaking began on a cold rainy morning in February 2018 when Phillip Vaught, an agriculture entrepreneur, made a spontaneous stop at the auction of the property. He said it was not his intention to make a bid. However, after the final gavel fell, the couple were the owners of the former store building, the house and the lawn next door, and they began bringing back the century-old structure which had sat empty for almost a decade.
“Maybe I’m a little crazy,” he said. “But I like a project and part of me hated to see a piece of history slipping away. Alanna and I are both passionate about the potential of this area. We are raising our family on a farm nearby and we think there is a great future here.”
The Vaughts now intend to rent out the venue for formal occasions, shows, live music, seasonal events and more. Many folks in the Milton area greatly appreciate their restoration efforts, revitalizing a local treasure with important historical significance.
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Admission to the grand opening is $5. For a full list of vendors, and more information on the new venue, visit thegatheringatmilton.com. Additional questions? Call (615) 653-6018 or email thegatheringatmilton@gmail.com.
The Gathering at Milton is located at 12026 Milton St.; the Oct. 13 Milton Fall Market and Craft Fair kicks off at 9 a.m.
