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We love auctions, specially auction with lots of old, historical, stuff. So at one of our last auctions we bought an old butter churn. At one time the Sunnyside was a dairy farm so we feel that the butter churn adds to the history of Sunnyside and that's why we cleaned and restored it and placed it in the breakfast room of the Sunnyside Sisters B&B for everyone to see.

A butter churn is a device used to turn milk into butter through mechanical agitation. The main types are the dash churn, barrel churn, and paddle churn. Historically, butter making was a key household task, predominantly performed by women, which eventually evolved into a commercial industry, particularly in New York during the 1800s with "Goshen Butter" becoming notable. Many churns were homemade, leading to a vast variety, like ‘our’ dash churn which is linked to S.C. Goggin from Rustburg, VA.

Being history buffs, we did some research on this person and found the following:

Samuel Cook Goggin, born on May 6, 1851, in Bedford County, Virginia, grew up in a rural environment where he developed a passion for agriculture. After his father's death in 1870, he took over the family farm while also attending William and Mary College. He briefly moved away from farming to operate a successful general store in Leesville before returning to agriculture, managing the Moon farm until 1893. He then became the clerk of the Campbell County Court and moved to Rustburg, where he created a model farm and established himself as an agricultural expert. Goggin married Lizzie D. Moon in 1878, and they had ten children. He actively participated in community life and was a past master in the Masonic order.

(this is a summary, for the complete story please go to the source: https://wikisource.org/ )

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!