HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
from start to finish...
The Estill County
Quilt Trail is a project of the Estill Arts Council that became a true community
wide effort. Citizens from all walks of
life, both women and men and, young and old, came together to help in the selection
of quilt patterns and barn sites.
Mondays became known as the “quilting bee” night as volunteers
showed up to draw and paint, for close
to two years, in order to complete and install over 50 quilt squares. Through this project many new friendships were
made and a sense of pride in the rich cultural heritage of the
community's historic, agricultural, and folk art roots was realized. The trail includes nearly 50 distinct quilt patterns.
The Quilt Trail
began in 2001 in Adams County, Ohio by Donna Sue Groves to honor her mother,
Nina Maxine Groves a lifelong quilter.
The Quilt Trail soon spread to Kentucky, Tennessee and many other states
and became a destination for tourists wanting to travel the rural highways and
scenic back roads in search of local cultural heritage. The project celebrates women, Appalachian
heritage and honors quilters and the historic
agricultural (tobacco) barns.
The Estill County
Quilt Trail has been sponsored by the Estill Arts Council, Kentucky Arts
Council, Kentucky Folklife Program, Cumberland Valley Resource Conservation
& Development Council (RC&D), Chamber of Commerce,EAD, (www.estillcountyky.net), Kiwanis
Club of Irvine/Ravenna, Citizens Guaranty Bank and many private individuals. Thanks
go to the Wisemantown United Methodist Church for the use of the basement to paint the quilt
blocks.