bicentennial celebration

The Wilmington News Journal of Wilmington, Ohio is one of the most consistent news sources publishing stories about Barn Quilts anywhere. Their focus is on Clinton County. They regularly print pictures and stories as new Barn Quilts are hung in the area. There seems to be a special sense of local pride and community that really gets to the roots of this Arts Movement. Below, I am posting a few excerpts from today's story. You can read the rest at: wnewsj.com. Thanks for the honoring all those involved, and all of their hard work.

Take self-guided quilt barn tour Saturday, Sunday
JOHN CROPPER
Staff Writer

The 200-year history of Clinton County will be on display this Saturday and Sunday, June 12 and 13, during a bicentennial barn quilt tour which will take participants through five eras of local history.

Five of the 54 paintings, which have emblazoned the sides of barns around the county this year, will be featured during the self-guided tour. There will be two stops in Wilmington and one each in Martinsville, Clarksville and Sabina. Each quilt site will feature events or activities that correspond with a given era.

“It’s really an event for the whole family,” said Diane Murphy, coordinator of the tour and co-creator of the barn quilt series. “There will be something for everyone."

"I’ve been amazed by the enthusiasm for the barn quilts. Not just locally, but beyond Clinton County as well,” Murphy said.

“Not only are they visiting the barns, but they’re coming back and saying how much they enjoyed it,” she said.

Leading up to the barn tour, “Lady Barn Consultant” Pam Gray will present “The Americanization of the Family Barn” on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Clinton County Historical Society. Admission is free (to see Pam Gray), and open to the public.

For more information about the barn quilt-tour, call Diane Murphy at 382-0136 or Carol Earhart at 366-6302.

Lewis Mountain and a big / little piece of history...

The first Barn Quilt that was painted (besides the one on Nina Maxine and Donna Sue Groves' tobacco barn), was on the gift shop at Lewis Mountain Herbs and Everlastings, Manchester, Ohio. This is a herb farm and nursery, and for over 20 years home to the Olde Thyme Herb Fair. On October 31, 2001 the Ohio Star Quilt Block was unveiled. Now the farm is for sale (see below).

Farm and Business for Sale
Lewis Mountain Herbs and Everlastings

For more information call Judy Lewis at 937-549-2484 or e-mail mtherbs@bright.net


Located in rural Southern Ohio two (2) miles from the Ohio River. Established business has been in operation for over thirty-three (33) years. Home of the Olde Thyme Herb Fair which will be celebrating its 21st year the second full weekend of October 2008. The Fair, which consists of displays and the sales of merchandise offered by over 240 artisans, continuous live entertainment, classes, workshops, luncheons and dinners. As one of the largest private fairs/festivals in the State, it attracts 20,000 to 30,000 visitors during the two (2) days.

Fresh cut flower production for commercial suppliers in Southwest Ohio. Production and sales of up to 600 herb varieties, scented geraniums and everlastings mostly to commercial customers in Ohio, Kentucky and WestVirginia and retail sales locally, throughout the United States and through the Company website (mtherbs.com)

Bed & Breakfast: Three (3) furnished sleeping rooms with individual bathrooms.Furnished Cottage with full bath and equipped kitchen (Currently rented for $600 / month). The “Mountainview Room” which is used for hosting meetings, parties, lunches, dinners and workshops with meals prepared on-site in the commercial kitchen.

Pet Boarding Kennels with capacity for 4 cats and 14 dogs, with wash station.

Full service Floral Shop. Retail Gift Shop

This 17 acre site also offers endless possibilities for further expansion. For example, it is ideally suited for a nursery/garden center. The retail shop can be expanded or modified as a Feed Store to service the local farming community.


Address: 2345 St Rt 247
Manchester, OH
Subdivision: Adams Co.
Price: $459,000

MLS ID #: 1169826
5 beds, 6 baths, 14.39 Acres

LEWIS MOUNTAIN HERBS FARM 5 BR BED & BREAKFAST 4 GREEN HOUSES FLORIST SHOP W/WALK-IN COOLER, COTTAGE 23X19 FOR RENTAL LG BARN W/STALL APPROX 50X70 HAS WORKSHOP. ADDL. 2 ACRES W/ 24X48 BARN AND DOG BOARDING KENNELS AVAILABLE FOR 119,000.00 FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL KOOGLER/EYRE REALTORS AT 513-753-9660.

Bicentennial planned for 2010

From: the Wilmington News Journal
in Wilmington Ohio

First bicentennial barn quilt to go up this weekend

Dan Liggett - Editor

The first quilt of Clinton County’s barn quilt project is scheduled to go up on the horse barn at the Clinton County Fairgrounds this weekend, and the project committee is working to have more quilts completed and installed in the coming weeks. The barn quilt project is being done in conjunction with the Clinton County Bicentennial celebration, which will be observed in 2010.

So far the committee has received commitments to place a quilt on approximately 20 barns in various locations of Clinton County, Diane Murphy, committee co-chair, said. The quilt to be placed on the horse barn at the fairgrounds will be visible from West Main Street. The official unveiling of this barn quilt is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, the first day of the Clinton County Fair.

Murphy said the goal of the committee is to install at least one barn quilt in each township of Clinton County. Commitments have been received from barn owners in the majority of townships, but the committee is hopeful to reach agreement to display a quilt on at least one barn in each of Vernon, Adams, Washington, Marion and Jefferson townships.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the positive response received so far,” Murphy said. The barn quilt project was initiated as a way to show all who travel around the county, including visitors and tourists, the pride that Clinton County has in its agricultural history, families and land. Other counties in Ohio and other states have organized successful barn quilt projects, stirring interest among tourists to travel to those counties to view the barn art on display.

The committee seeks a business or organization sponsor for each barn quilt to help defray the cost, and commitment from barn owners to display the barn quilt through 2011. The cost of participation in the barn quilt project is $200 from the sponsor and $200 from the barn owner.

The committee will paint the barn quilts on a regular schedule for three weeks starting Wednesday, June 10, at the Clinton County Youth Council, 302 W. Sugartree St. in Wilmington. The schedule is Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and from 6 to 9 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. Volunteers are needed to assist in painting the barn quilts. No artistic skills or experience is necessary to assist in this effort, as the work will involve applying paint inside lines of the already determined quilt design. Each volunteer may commit for one or more sessions. Or, a group of friends could commit to paint together for one or more sessions.

“We invite local residents to join in the fun of painting these quilt block designs that will be seen throughout the county and enjoyed by many for years to come,” Murphy said.

All designs will be painted on 4-foot-by-8-foot sheets of plywood.

Impact Study...

There is always more to share... Being pressed for time myself, it is my hope to create enough interest here, so that you can easily follow up to some interesting site or sight. In this entry is a link to one of the more more official studies of the Ohio Quilt Barn Trail. Finished in 2008, this study is filled with insight, stories and a little history. This is a socio-economic geo-cultural study of the birth and growth of Quilt Barns as Art in Ohio. Funded by the Ohio Arts Council, this study was assembled by the folks at Ohio University's Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. This is a publication that should be on the desk of every Barn Quilt organization. Of course you can also read it on-line, and even save it, and e-mail it to your friends and family.

Ohio Arts Council Quilt Barn Impact Study:
Understanding the Value of the Ohio Quilt Barn Trail

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I will include a few words from the study by Julie S. Henahan, Executive Director of the Ohio Arts Council in her Executive Director’s Message:


Quilt barn projects are homegrown and created through a grass roots process that is shared by the entire community. Perhaps what is most appealing about quilt barns is how the project uniquely blends the rural agricultural landscape and art form of quilting with a universal medium - paint.


This report provides an overview of the Ohio Quilt Barn Trail and looks beyond the purely artistic importance of quilt barns, highlighting their great value for the Appalachian region and their true potential in terms of the economic, social, and cultural strengthening of the region.


In my words, this is much larger than any regional descriptions, and it should be read. It's also got some great maps for those traveling in and around Ohio.

Times, they are a changin'

Well, the farm is sold. Everything (most everything), got loaded and moved. There is still a truck & trailer load to unpack. That is what I will be about today. I will be able to spend a little more time here in the coming days, and I hope to meet a few friends with an interest in Barn Quilts.

A quick FYI note...
The current AAA e-zine called Home & Away has a nice article on the Barn Quilts of Miami County, Ohio. Linked to: Home & Away