The history of the barn quilt comes from the Mennonite settlers to the area. They don’t just exist here - they are something that is found in many places across the U.S. I’m sure a couple hundred years ago they could be found in most every county/state, but now they are only in places where folks are interested in the heritage of the area.
The story goes that way back when settlers were building barns paint was much too expensive to be a reasonable purchase for strapped farmers. Most barns were left plain wood. With the use of old-growth wood the deterioration of the barn wasn’t the issue that it would be today. Many farmers and their wives wanted some way to dress up their barns, so they began buying enough paint to spiffy up just one part. Many of the quilt squares were chosen because of their significance or the fact that they were part of a fabric quilt that held special meaning for the family.
With the advent of cheaper paint in the late 1800 and turn of the century most of the barns were painted entirely. Many farmers also painted barns with advertisements for area businesses. The early form of bill boarding, really.
A hundred years later folks are honoring their ancestors or their property by putting these quilt blocks back up. They are always an 8x8 panel mounted where they can be seen from the road. Sometimes they are on other things like houses, milk houses, or even on posts in the yard. Within Franklin county there is a registry for quilt barns and many other communities even have driving maps for an art tour of sorts. To be on the Franklin County registry you have to pay a (large!) fee which gives you the option of designing the square and having others paint it.
I have decided that a quilt square would be a perfect addition to Lone Cedar Farm (a name I am trying out for this place). I’m not sure where it would be mounted or what the square would look like, but it just seems like something that would be kind of neat. I’m sure I will need to think about that one for a while. Maybe I could do some pondering while I am planting those 20 trees I ordered.
Here are some pictures that I took in the area:
On a completely different note, the house has the nice hum of chirping chicks now. I have a large box with 30 chicks in the downstairs bathroom. I had forgotten just how much I like having chicks around. I promise to post pictures soon - things have just been crazy. With them being nearly a week old now I am hoping that I am nearly done cleaning chicken butts - that’s not a part that I love so much. No one has told you about that? Oh yes, you have to make sure their butts are clean! They can actually get so much buildup that they are not able to poop and end up dying (affectionately called pasty butt). It’s hard to believe that these chickens can poop that much, but it is a constant process (usually twice a day for about 4-5 chicks at a time). After they age just a bit it is no longer an issue. Boy, I hope we are close. Let’s just say that it is way easier to change a baby’s diaper than get crusted bird poop out of a chick’s downy butt feathers. Thank goodness those birds will taste good!
Here’s hoping that the upcoming week goes fast. I have a week off coming the next week and I have lots to do around here. Those 30 babies are going to outgrow their box very quickly and need a place to go!
TJR
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