Putnam County, Tennessee

Welcome to the Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail

The Upper Cumberland Quilt Trail is part of the continuing commitment of the Upper Cumberland Quilt Festival to the preservation of this historical craft of traditional quilting.

We Have Many to Thank for Making this Possible…we say Thanks to:

The farm and barn owners for giving us permission to hang the painting on their properties. We are especially grateful to our Quilters and their families for allowing us to use their treasured quilts and patterns.

Our artists, Julie Styer and Sandra Darrow, of the Upper Cumberland Arts Alliance, who spent many hours designing and painting.

Ron Sweeney, for painting the Star of Bethlehem and hanging all of the paintings.

Bill Herren for painting our first barn on Dry Valley Road

The Algood School children and their teacher Wren Van Hooser, and Sandra Darrow & 8th grade students at Cornerstone Middle School in Baxter & Janis Nunnally.

National Civil War Quilt Trail decorates Dover

Thanks to our friend Suzi Parron, I was able to locate a picture from the Stewart County Civil War Quilt Trail. You can read a short article at the Stewart County Public Library and another on the Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation newsletter from July 2008


The centerpiece of the National Civil War Quilt Trail is “Letitia’s Quilt,” inspired by local Civil War heroine Letitia Smith Walter. It was designed by her great-granddaughter and local artist, Carolyn Walter Darke, third from left above. Also pictured are Betsy Tumelson, third from right, who assisted in the painting of the quilt, and employees from CEMC (Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation), who helped raise and attach the 16-foot-by-16-foot quilt to the side of the Good Samaritan Center, 303 Donelson Parkway, in downtown Dover (Tn). On the left are Stephen Fitzhugh and Clint Marshall, and on the right are Donnie Burkhart and Steve Fielder.

Another Quilt Trail

I don't know how long this has been an active quilt trail, and I will need to contact the Five Rivers Resource Conservation and Development organization to find out more, but I have added Houston County to the side bar. If I am missing any that you are aware of, please e-mail me at" barnquilter@gmail.com and I will update the list of Barn Quilt groups.


Celtic Quilt Trail
By: Debbie Schmidt & Sharon Knight

Houston County has now joined several counties in Tennessee with its own quilt trial. This one is like no other, however, in that it depicts Houston County's unique Celtic heritage. Each quilt square has a distinctive pattern with its own individual story.

Artist Debbie Schmidt, who organized the quilt project, and scores of volunteers worked feverishly during the past few weeks to get enough 8-foot by 8-foot wooden squares sold, painted and erected in time for the 2009 Irish Days celebration. She had set a goal of 12 and although only nine have been erected, two additional ones are waiting in the wings and another three have been ordered.

The quilt trail may be the brainchild of Schmidt but she is quick to divert credit away for herself. “It’s not just me (who has done this),” she said. “It’s a world of volunteers.” Meriwether Lewis workers, Danny Schmidt and Randy Baggett have supplied Schmidt with manpower and equipment to erect the squares in such a way that they are secure.

Schmidt also had volunteers who help draw the designs and volunteers – some of them the same – who helped paint the square. Each square includes the names of the people who worked on it in an inconspicuous place on the front and listed on the back. That way, each person who worked on it can feel a little ownership of the quilt squares.

“There are just too many volunteers to mention them individually,” she said, “and I don’t want to leave anyone out.”The project is promoted through the Five Rivers Resource Conservation and Development organization (http://fiveriversrcd.com).

It is design to bring tourism interest to the county as visitors follow the trail of quilt patterns through the county. Mapping of the Trail and guided tours are planned. We also have hopes of drawing some of these visitors to look at our area as a special place to live or retire.

The Quilt Trail project is multi county and has extended across Tennessee. Montgomery Co.(crazy quilts), Stewart County (civil war quilts) Humphrey’s County, Robertson as well as Houston County (Celtic Quilts) are all working on this project.

read more at: http://www.houstoncochamber.com