Written By WENDY HOBDAY HAUGH | Photos by LIZ ARGOTSINGER
If you’ve ever wondered about the colorfully painted, often intricately-designed squares affixed to rural barns, outbuildings, homes, and businesses, wonder no more! These eye-catching barn quilts are part of an ever-growing barn quilt trail movement that is currently thriving in almost every State in the Union. Barn quilts, usually ranging in size from 4’ x 4’ to 8’ x 8,’ are created as visible signs of rural pride, local history, and love of family and community. Smaller quilt-like designs can also be spotted adorning lesser landmarks like fences, posts, and sheds.
For centuries, people have expressed themselves by painting intricate shapes and messages on structures. Today’s barn quilts are a natural extension of this ancient form of pictorial communication. An Ohio woman named Donna Sue Groves is credited with spearheading our nationwide barn quilt movement. Wishing to honor her mother’s incredible cloth quilting, Groves told her mom that one day she would paint a quilt design on a decrepit old tobacco barn on their property. After Groves painted that barn, other people took note and, inspired by her creativity, began creating their own barn quilt squares.
After securing a job with the Ohio Arts Council, Donna Sue Groves came to understand that barn quilts and other meaningful murals painted on structures not only enhanced a sense of regional community spirit but enchanted travelers and tourists as well. When Groves proposed painting quilt-like squares on a number of barns in the area, the Adams County Arts Council backed her idea. In 2001, the Ohio Quilt Barn Project was launched, and its first quilt square was painted on a nearby barn. In the years since, countless quilt barn trails have sprung up all across the U.S. and Canada.
Today, we are fortunate to have one such trail blazing its way through neighboring Fulton and Montgomery counties. Since 2014, the Fulton Montgomery Quilt Barn Trail (FMQBT), officially founded by Town of Mayfield resident Liz Argotsinger, has grown to include over 160 registered squares. In the early 2000s, after reading in a quilting magazine about the trail being started in Ohio, Argotsinger became eager to combine her two loves, quilting and painting, and create a square of her own.
“I’d been painting quilt squares on furniture for years,” she explains, “and after retiring in 2009, I was able to do several things I hadn’t had time for previously. In January 2014, while beginning to train for my second Lake Placid Ironman, I thought it would be a great time to see if there might be any interest in establishing a local quilt barn trail. Starting the trail seemed like a good idea then, and nine years later we have over 160 registered squares, with new unregistered ‘bonus’ squares popping up all the time.”
In order to be included in Fulton Montgomery’s trail, quilt squares must be visible from the road. Argotsinger’s initial 8’ x 8’ square, which she painted and affixed to her family’s barn on Route 29, sparked tremendous local interest. Since then, the project has taken on a life of its own. Some people make their own squares. Others seek out experienced artisans to paint squares for them. Because the quilt barn trail was originally conceived as a communitywide art project, no writing or business logos are allowed. A completely volunteer effort, the trail stands as a testament to the power and dedication of community spirit.
Today, quilt barn squares can be found at local churches, schools, businesses, and historical sites throughout the region. A three-square quilt adorns the Johnstown Senior Center, and a stunning mural at the Town of Mayfield Municipal Complex—created in conjunction with a studio art class—features more than 50 individual 2’ x 2’ squares, each one designed and painted by a student.
Brochures for the Fulton Montgomery Quilt Barn Trail are available at numerous locations, including the Visitor Center at the Route 29 & 30 roundabout. Since most of the quilt squares are located on private property, owners respectfully ask that visitors pull over and view them from the roadside.
Should you find yourself inspired to join the fun and create your own quilt barn square, step-by-step videos are available online. And be sure to check out the Fulton Montgomery Trail’s video link, below. From coast to coast, the barn quilt movement is growing by leaps and bounds, and you can be a part of it!
Download the FMQBT map at
www.fmquiltbarntrail.com/map.html.
Check out this local trail video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lTkTIPUXCY
To see other registered U.S. trails, go to:
barnquiltinfo.com/map-US.html
Questions? Contact Liz Argotsinger:
518-774-8717;
