About The Gathering at Milton

Welcome to The Gathering

Hello. We (Phillip and Alanna Vaught) are very excited to be the new proprietors of the historical building formerly known as the Milton Country Store.  Phillip and I purchased the building and the adjacent lot and house in February 2018.  Phillip and I reside in the Auburntown community and have two sons; John Buyrl and Jess Michael. He grew up on a farm in Lascassas and I on a farm in Obion County. Phillip is self -employed and owns a custom land clearing and bushogging business.  I have been a professor in the MTSU School of Agriculture for the past 11 years. 

 The first thing I need to tell you is we had not planned to purchase the building.  Yes, you heard me correctly. We never planned to purchase the building.  We joked about buying it in the past, however were never serious.  The auction was held on a nasty, rainy Saturday morning.  I was announcing a cattle show at MTSU and Phillip had decided to stay home with our two year old son. Low and behold, Phillip decided to bring the baby to watch the cattle show.  On his way to Murfreesboro, he noticed the auction sign and decided to stop in to see what the old store building brought. He parked the truck right in the front door and actually left our son in the truck watching a movie (the window was rolled down and he was under the porch being watched by Mr. Randy Jordan). As he entered the store, the auction was underway. He quickly called me, cited the price the auctioneer was asking for and said, “Do we want to get in?”  I quickly responded, “get in what?” Well my friends, the rest is history! 

 During the days that followed, we constantly questioned our spontaneous decision. What in the world were we going to do with it? We even had a few individuals approach us about buying it. One thing we did know was we had no interest in opening a restaurant.  I know we disappointed many people when they heard that.  However, even among those disappointed people there was a constant consensus.  Everyone was very grateful and thankful we had purchased it and encouraged us to please “save the ole Milton store building”.  That constant encouragement gave us the desire to, and the passion we needed to begin the HUGE project before us.  

The first thing we found ourselves doing was deciding upon a name. Since so many people had so many fond memories of the building and its various occupants, we wanted everyone to be able to enjoy it. I have a background in agritourism and Phillip and I both love seeing people, young and old, “enjoy” themselves at gatherings and events.  We wanted the building to be a place where people could gather for a family dinner, a work Christmas party, a baby shower, a community open house, a bridal shower, a luncheon and much more.  The list could go on and on.  This is how we came about the name, 

"The Gathering at Milton"

 We have big plans and dreams! So many we could not possible list them all here. Our plan is to offer an inside space for events consisting of 99 (max capacity for codes) people or less.  We can also offer various options for outside use as well, since we purchased the large, open adjacent lot. There will be many more details, options and pricing within the next couple of months as we near our opening (not sure the exact date yet). Phillip and I plan to hold our first event October 13, 2018: Grand Opening, Milton Fall Market and Craft Fair. For more information, please see booking information tab. In addition to this event we hope to host several free events for the community throughout the year as well as seasonal events such as, but not limited to: workshops, holiday open house and markets featuring the Easter Bunny, Uncle Sam and Santa, catered dinners, outdoor plays, street dances and the list is endless.  I hope you are excited as you read this! 

Please like us on Facebook (click on the link in the top right hand corner) and check back regularly for updates and venue rental availability,  times and dates.  Feel free to contact us anytime, our contact information is at the bottom of this page.

​

Sincerely, 

Alanna and Phillip Vaught