Quilt Walk & Quilt Guilds

The Fairfield Fan-Tastic Quilt Guild will show a beautiful collection of new and old quilts, wall hanging, and many other art creations. The guild started about five years old ago, and enrolled about 100 members in the  first year.

Members of the Fairfield guild come from all corners of the United States and other countries. This makes this group so unique. Their programs are very different.  The theme for 2008 is about the United States, and each month a different “home” state is highlighted.

For May it will be on Ohio and a Round Robin quilt project.  They usually have a quilt block pattern for each month.  The Fan-Tastic Quilters have made charity quilts that go to the Hospice, The Plateau Pregnancy Center, and House of Hope and to the Veterans Hospital.

Once a year, the guild is organizing a Back to School event when classes are taught on different quilt subjects.  The annual Tea and Auction is to raise money for speakers and workshops.  Several of the quilter ladies have shown quilts at AQUS shows.

The guild meets at the Fairfield United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. Call Charlotte Plummer at 931-484-8191 for more information.

The Foutch-McGugin House, located at 50 W. Church Street in Algood, sits centered on a lawn of around three acres.  The home pre-dates most county real estate records, and no record exists of its original construction date. The original owners, however, are known.

Mr. John Ananius Epperson, and his wife, Clara Jane Cox Epperson were the original owners of the home.  Edward Laurent, an architect from Nashville, designed the home for the Epperson's.  The original blueprints for the house remain mostly intact.

Little is known about Mr. Epperson.  He owned and operated a local sawmill.  Mrs. Epperson's biography is better available.  She was born in 1869 in Gainesboro, TN.  She was the daughter of Robert Alexander Cox and Nancy Joseph Draper.  Clara Cox received a B.A. degree from Nashville College for Young Ladies in 1887, and M.A. in 1891.  Prior to her marriage, she taught school at Dixon Springs and at Gainesboro.

She was a poet and author, and an active member of many local civic and literary organizations, and the Church of Christ.  The first Putnam County Library was named in her honor, and she was Poet Laureate of the State of Tennessee for a short time. Her writings and papers are preserved in the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Lottie Farr from the Department of English at Tennessee Technological University collected several of her poems and prose in 1973.  Her collection is called “Scraps of Verse and Prose from Heartsease” in reference to her name for the house.

The Epperson's are documented to have moved to Algood in 1894, although there are no definite records that they moved directly into this house.   Ms. Epperson's mother moved in with the family, and died in this house in 1908.  According to her obituary, she had been living with her daughter for the last ten years.  Based on this information, the house can safely be said to have been built between 1894 and 1898.

Another interesting story of the house was documented in the Putnam County Newspaper in 1905.  An Elder W. H. Sutton was preaching at Algood and "stopping" with the Epperson's.  According to the paper, he "went to the barn to see about his team, and after awhile was found dead."

Mr. Epperson died in 1919, and the home was sold to J. Lee Epperson, a local property investor.  Clara moved in with her daughter, the wife of Dr. W. A. Howard.  J. Lee Epperson lived in the home until after his death.  His heirs sold the home to Harry and Agatha McGugin in 1950, the founders of McGugin Oil, the local Shell Oil distributors.

The McGugin’s lived here more than 50 years. They raised five children in the house on Church Street. Today, Terry and Karen Foutch live here with their four children.

Algood was one of the largest towns between Nashville and Knoxville around the turn of the century, largely as a result of the railway line built through Algood in 1893. Commerce and industry thrived at that time. One store was built on the north side of Main Street adjacent to the depot. Early owners of the store were Keith and Edwards, H.A. Draper, M.M. Allen & Son, Floyd Gragg and Joe Swallows. Hinson M. Judd became the owner about 1920 operating as H. M. Judd General Store.

Johnnie Phillips in her book, The Algood Story, relates:
"While visiting the Judd Store, one could purchase groceries, ready-to-wear, piece goods, building materials, and various other items. In the Judd Store, the owners or sales people were never too busy to exchange or demonstrate their wares, or even to have a short visit. Some recall having the salespeople wrap packages for mailing, exchange news about family members, or even in emergencies to have prayers with their customers, who were also their friends."

About 1935, Norval Swallows purchased an interest in the store and it became known as Judd & Swallows General Merchandise. Because of a fire in 1966, the store sold its entire contents and closed its doors, which ended the “old general store” in Algood.

Today, the  metal-clad building is the Algood Hardware – Furniture Store

Antique Quilts in the Algood United Methodist Church

  Beautiful antique quilts are draped over the pews in the sanctuary 
  of the church.

  Ladies of the “Cookeville Busy Bee Quilt Guild” are hosting the
  display.

Fabric & Antiques Vendors, Demonstration, a Pfaff Sewing Center, and
Lunch in the Family Life Center

At the Family Life Center the fabric and antique vendors, quilting  demonstrations, and a Pfaff Sewing demonstration hosted by Little Blessing Quilts Shop. Schedule will be posted as available.

Members of the Algood United Methodist Church will serve lunch on Friday and Saturday. More details and menus are available at registration.

The Algood United Methodist Church is listed in the National Register of Historic Places

By 1803, the Cumberland Turnpike (Walton Road) gave access to this area to many new settlers. Methodist Circuit Riders came with them, spreading God’s Word and soon, meetings grew to established churches ..

In the early 1890’s, the railroad came to what would become the town of Algood. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was built in 1899 on land donated by Alfred and Henry Algood, sons of a Methodist Circuit Rider. Its position on Main Street made it a focal point for the community.  It became a center for religious and community activities.  In the early years, other denominations were invited to use the church for their own worship.  An early expansion of the church involved moving and attaching a former public school building to the back of the sanctuary.  This is the Fellowship Hall.  The architecture of this church is carpenter gothic, a style widely used at the turn of the century.  It is reminiscent of the small stone Episcopal Churches in rural England.

In 1909 a tornado did extensive damage to the building.  The restoration included moving the tower to the right side of the building.  A bell, still in use, and the stained glass window were installed following the restoration.  The church building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.  A determining factor was maintenance of its architectural integrity. 

Festival Registration and Quilt Display at the new Royal Ranger Hall
at Trinity Assembly

The new Royal Ranger Hall, behind Trinity Assembly, will house an extensive collection of new quilts made since 2005, wall hangings and the Sunbonnet Sue Challenge Blocks

The church was first called First Assembly of God and was set in order in 1966 by founding pastor, W.F. Carlile. Brother Carlile served as Pastor for nearly 10 years. The original 40x40 building was called "The Cracker Box Church" until the late 1970's when, under the direction of Pastor Buford Nivens, Trinity launched a major building program adding a new sanctuary and fellowship hall, which doubled as a day-care facility.
    During the pastorate of Buford Nivens, the
    name was changed. Aug. 1, 1977 marks the
    date when First Assembly of God became
    Trinity Assembly of God. In September of
    1983, the church board hired Eddie Turner to
    oversee the church and Amanda to run the
    daycare center. Pastor Turner next began a
    local radio program called Winner's Workshop.
    In the late 1980, Trinity began to purchase
    some of its surrounding properties with ideas
    of expansion, and in 1989 a new fellowship hall, classrooms, and foyer were built.

February of 1991: Trinity rented a small building located across the street from its facilities. What once housed AM radio station, Life 16, became home to the Trinity Outreach Center,  an emergency food and clothing center that was open 3 days a week for a couple of hours. In January 1998, an expansion program of the Trinity Outreach Center that had the capacity to store three times the supplies. By the year 2000, the Outreach Center had increased its help to area families by 197% from when it first opened its doors in 1991.

As Pastor's vision continued, so did Trinity's growth. By 1992, a staff of seven was diligently working to minister effectively to the needs of the church. Once more, the church began purchasing as much of the surrounding properties as possible and to make plans for a new sanctuary complex. A few more years passed with people arriving at church early just to get a good parking spot. Late in 1995 saw the two Sunday morning services with a total average attendance of over 1,000 people. On March 24, 1996, the congregation moved into the new sanctuary complex.

Get more information on Trinity Assembly at www.trinityalgood.com/aboutus.asp