A family affair
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 4, 2008
Knoxville, Tenn. — In 1907, Oliver Perry Jenkins opened his furniture store in downtown Knoxville, Tenn. Today, O.P. Jenkins Furniture is less than 200 feet away from the original location.
Meg and Terry Troutman are the fourth generation of the Jenkins' family to run the store. Meg Troutman said that O.P. Jenkins had one daughter, who was her grandmother. Meg's grandfather, Jack Sherwood, was a teacher and football coach at the local high school, and he joined the business when his father-in-law's health began to fail.
Jack Sherwood had two sons. Don Sherwood worked at O.P. Jenkins from 1958–1966 and then managed Maryville Furniture Store until 1998. Bobby Sherwood entered the business in 1963 and was active in management until 2005.
In 1984, Meg's husband, Terry Troutman, went to work with her father, Bobby Sherwood, and now Terry and Meg Troutman own and operate the business.
