The Ohio quilt trail is “ground zero” for the barn quilt movement. Starting in 2001 with the Adams County Quilt Sampler, the trail has grown to include over a dozen counties.
Once the Adams County committee began work, nearby Brown County and artist JoAnn May took on the task of creating a quilt trail. That project was followed quickly by The Patchwork Jewels of Monroe County, where Bicentennial Barn artist Scott Hagan painted quilt patterns directly on the barns. In Miami County, Mexican artist Rafael Santoyo also hand-painted each barn quilt on the buildings’ surfaces and replicates the look of fabric in each of his creations.
Throughout Ohio, barn quilts reflect the community, whether it’s Athens County, where custom-designed blocks showcase the pawpaw fruit and the scrollwork on the university grounds, Harrison County, with its emphasis on the Underground Railroad, or Coshocton County, whose barn quilts are the product of documentation of local quilts. Although barn quilts are not as plentiful here as in some other states, each project is unique and well worth a visit.
