Experience the 11 Barn Quilts of the Hoosier Heartland in White County

On August 29^th 2013, The Barn Quilts of the Hoosier Heartland (BQHH) unveiled its first trail entry. The quilt design was revealed at Phyllis and Les Condo’s home, a converted barn located south of Monticello. The barn quilt was created in memory of Nancy Skinner who served as a member of the Barn Quilt Committee. An avid quilter, homemaker, and gardener, Nancy Skinner passed away in 2012. “It is very appropriate that the first quilt block, the Log Cabin design, honored Nancy as our dear friend and tireless community volunteer,” said Liz Rice, Chairman of the BQHH.

The first known Barn Quilt originated in Ohio. In 2001, Donna Sue Groves honored her mother, who was an expert quilter, by painting a quilt pattern on her barn. Today, there is a national movement to promote barn quilt trails. Travel the back-country roads of popular trail states including Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and New Jersey and you may stumble upon their unique beauty. Today, barn quilt trails exist in 49 states. Hawaii being the only one without.

Recently, with the help of the Enjoy White County Visitor Center, the local BQHH has been caught a national spotlight! Suzi Parron, in partnership with Donna Sue Groves, documented the massive public art project of barn quilt trails in multiple published novels and a website, barnquiltinfo.com. The local BQHH is now listed as registered on Suzi’s official resource site.

Currently, there are 11 barn quilts in White County. “Our initial goal was to have at least one barn quilt in each township in White and Carroll Counties,” said Denise Schroeder, Committee member. “We are at the point where we will have more than one in a White County township.”

Barn Quilt Tours celebrates the rich history of agriculture and the time-honored tradition of quilting. Barn Quilt Tours connect communities. It also helps showcase other area attractions and venues such as restaurants, shops, lodging facilities, and tourism attractions.

The mission of the Barn Quilts of the Hoosier Heartland is to pay tribute to the rich rural history of this county. Look for more exciting updates, maps, bios, photos, and printed brochures in the near future on enjoywhitecounty.com.