Marion County Quilt Trail...

On this breathtaking tour, visitors meander through some of the most beautiful countryside in Kentucky. There are many great sites to see besides the large quilt patches hung on barns and other structures. Pay attention. You'll get a good feel for local heritage and enjoy the visually stimulating look of the pastures, forests, country roads and knoblands.

Pay attention to the livestock. You'll see quarter horses, standardbreds and thoroughbreds. Watch the cattle grazing, including Holsteins, Jerseys and Salers for milk and Angus, Charolais, Herefords and Gelbvieh for beef. You'll also see some hogs, goats and llamas, here and there.

Crops along the route include soybean, corn and tobacco. At certain times of the year, you can see farmers cutting hay, some rolling it and some baling it into squares. There are different styles of fencing, such as barbed wire, white and black plank and woven wire. Even the fence poles are different from one place to another. Watch for round or square treated poles, iron rods or locust poles cut straight from the tree.

Notice the architecture. There are several old homes as well as some beautiful and interesting new homes. This community dates back before the Civil War. While you are here, take the "Historic Homes & Landmarks of Lebanon, Ky." self-guided walking/driving tour.

See beautiful wild flowers and native trees such as oak, poplar, locust, ash, dogwood, maple and pine. Notice the layers of limestone as you drive past rock hangs, keep an eye out for the Rolling Fork River and treat your nose to a cornucopia of aromas.

This is a great motorcycle tour with its scenic views and lazy, winding roads. Come back during each season and you'll be amazed at the unique look at different times of the year.

The Marion County Quilt Trail is a portion of the "Clothesline of Quilts" trail that runs throughout Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

Quilt patch locations:

♥720 Fairground Rd. - Hung on Floral Hall at the Marion County Fairgrounds, this pattern is called "Bow Basket. The Marion County Homemakers had just finished a sampler quilt to hang in the new county extension office so the organization thought it would be nice to take a block from the real quilt and make it into a barn patch. There is plenty of parking and turn-around space and it is located across the street from Graham Memorial Park. GPS: 37° 33.828N, 085° 14.269W.

♥715 Hwy. 1157 - Located on the Leonard and Martha Potter farm in the Calvary area, you get a clear view of the "roosters" from either direction. Mrs. Potter, an avid quilter, didn't have a favorite pattern so she told her husband he could pick a pattern if he let her use the barn. He looked through her books and found a rooster quilt and chose it. Why? Because Mrs. Potter wouldn't let him have any chickens on the farm because they were too messy.  There is plenty of parking and turn-around space.  GPS: 37° 30.063N, 085° 14.546W.

♥965 Lovers Lane E - Joe and Linda Ford in one of the oldest homes in Marion County.  Mr. Ford remembers his mother making many "Dutch Girl" quilts during her life. He wanted to honor her by placing the "Dutch Girl" pattern his mother favored on the black barn facing the house so he could see it from his bedroom. Since the patch faces the house, you can only see it when you pass the barn. There is parking and turn-around space across the road.  GPS: 37° 30.975N, 085° 17.006W.

♥3845 Barbers Mill Rd. - Andrew and Alice Clark live near the Marion/Washington County line. Mrs. Clark's mother was a quilter so the "Lemon Star" she picked to go on their barn reminds her of her mother's quilts. The patch can be viewed for quite a distance in either direction. The two colors of blue she picked complement one another with the yellow border. There is a long lane with plenty of turn-around space.   GPS: 37° 37.540N, 085° 12.428W.

♥9920 Danville Hwy. - Mary Lou Hamilton supports many projects in Marion County plus she loves the University of Kentucky Wildcats so she picked a quilt pattern to go along with these two interests.  Local artist Jama Watts helped design the cat paw prints in four blocks with a Kentucky blue border. The patch is located on the barn facing U.S. 68 just outside of Gravel Switch. You can't see it traveling east but you get a very clear view of it traveling west. There is a lane next to the small barn by the road. If the gate is open, drive on back. If closed, there is comfortable parking for one vehicle.   GPS: 37° 35.118N, 085° 04.466W.

♥875 Arbuckle Creek Rd. - Mike and Rita Spalding live on one of the prettiest country roads in the county. Their "Star Flower" is on a barn on the right side of the road across the creek. You can see the star about a quarter mile away but the pattern doesn't come into full focus until you get closer to it. At a certain time of the year, the patch is almost hidden by the Spalding's corn crop. There is a small lane for parking across from the barn.   GPS: 37° 28.135N, 085° 13.177W.

♥1597 Hwy. 1157 - Joey Lee lives across the way from his parents. He saw a barn quilt exhibit at the Heart of Kentucky Farm, Home &  Garden Show and decided to purchase a patch for his mom, Mary Edna Lee, who is a breast cancer survivor. Mrs. Lee loves the pink ribbon that symbolizes the fight against breast cancer and wears pins, bracelets, purses etc. emblazoned with the ribbon. For his Mother's Day present, he decided to surprise his mom with a quilt patch with the pink ribbon on it and place it on his barn located across the road. It cannot be seen traveling north but is very visible traveling south. There are plenty of places to pull over.   GPS: 37° 29.619N, 085° 13.860W.

♥6555 Bradfordsville Rd. - There used to be an old school house near the D.C. and Barbara May property so Mrs. May wanted a school house pattern on their barn. The "Ohio School House"pattern was chosen. There is plenty of shoulder space on the road for pulling over.   GPS: 37° 30.083N, 085° 11.501W.

♥5270 St. Rose Rd. - Located on Robert and Margaret Spalding's Spalding & Spalding Farm, established in 1964. Mrs. Spalding began quilting when Nancy Miles taught a class at the county extension office several years ago. Her first quilted piece was a Double Wedding Ring wall hanging so, when she decided to hang a barn quilt, the Double Wedding Ring was her first choice. Her favorite colors are wine and green that are dominant in the patch. A lane leads to the barn.   GPS: 37° 38.483N, 085° 17.673W.

♥830 Sally Ray Pike - Joe Paul and Luanne Mattingly live on a dairy farm near Raywick. People often stop to look at their cows and all the cow art pieces in their yard. Mr. Mattingly milks Holsteins so he wanted a Holstein on his quilt block located at the end of his tool shed facing the road. Mrs. Mattingly was happy to report that, after the quilt block went up, Mr. Mattingly cleaned up the area around the tool shed. She had been after him for years to do this job. There is plenty of parking and turn-around space.   GPS: 37° 33.041N, 085° 23.550W.

♥8675 Bradfordsville Rd. - Bob and Pat Kirkland live in Bradfordsville where Mrs. Kirkland is very active in civic affairs. Many years ago, in the 1930s, the students at the old Rush Branch school made a Dresden Plate quilt to honor one of their teacher. A few years ago, Dixie Hibbs of Bardstown, who is a quilt historian, bought this old quilt at an auction in another state. After seeing the names and dates on the quilt, she wrote a letter to the editor of The Lebanon Enterprise asking if anyone wanted this quilt with its history and Mrs. Kirkland bought it. It has been on display in Bradfordsville several times and, when Mrs. Kirkland decided to get a barn patch, she picked the Dresden Plate pattern to complement the old quilt. Their barn is located where the North and South Fork meet to form the Rolling Fork River. In the fall 2007, a tornado hit the back part of the barn but it has been repaired. There is a lane beside the barn for parking.   GPS: 37° 29.640N, 085° 09.728W.

♥1857 E. Calvary Rd. - Norman and Martina Spalding live on this beautiful farm that runs along KY 412. Mr. Spalding is a retired state worker so, when he decided he wanted a barn patch, he wanted a big red cardinal, our state bird. The bird represents his years with the state highway department, so he says. He also wanted a red and black border on the patch and wanted it hung where he could see it from his back porch. It seems as though Mr. Spalding is not so much a fan of the state bird as he is the state university whose mascot is the cardinal! It can only be seen when traveling north from Calvary toward Campbellsville Highway. There are few places to park or turn around.   GPS: 37° 30.550N, 085° 16.129W.

♥10880 Danville Hwy. - Gene and Montrude Lanham live on the hillside near Gravel Switch. They have three daughters, two of which are professional level quilters. This year, the daughters decided to give their parents a barn patch for Mother's Day and Father's Day.  The pattern they picked is called "Farmer's Daughters." The patch is located on the white building near their house. A long lane leads to the building.  GPS: 37° 35.287N, 085° 03.670W.

♥108 Main St., Raywick - This patch hangs on the very building in which it was born. The Sew-cialize Club meets in the old Raywick school where they have made hundreds of prayer blankets and quilts to raffle to benefit St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and the community. Nancy Miles, who helped organize the group, suggested they put a patch on the school. They decided to put the pattern "God's Eye" on the school, which is next to from the church. Miles and her daughter, Tina Miles Craig, both known for their artistic talent, painted the quilt square in colors that represented church seasons. They were able to complete it before Archbishop Joseph Kurtz celebrated a Mass at St Francis Xavier in August 2008. Miles' husband, Donnie, created the frame used to hold the patch to the facade of the old school.   GPS: 37° 33.697N, 085° 25.824W.

♥KY 412, across from St. Joe Store - Leo and Suzi O'Daniel wanted a patch but didn't have a barn visible from the road so Mrs. O'Daniel's stepfather, Ham Spalding, allowed them to use his barn located on a hill almost directly across the road from St. Joe Store.  Mrs. O'Daniel and her daughter, Sarah, a talented artist, painted the patch. Knowing they needed bright colors to show up from the hillside, they found the "Spinning Star" with different hues of four colors.  GPS: 37° 31.587N, 085° 23.215W.