Western Maryland

“The Circle of Life in Garrett County” barn quilt was installed last summer, and “it has started to get people’s attention,” says Beverley Williams, president of the nonprofit Barn Quilt Association.

“They see the barn, head to our Visitor’s Center in McHenry, and then take off…on the barn quilt trail.”

The self-guided tour leads visitors into the heart of Garrett County, past farms, outdoor produce stands, and small towns as they follow Maryland’s first such trail by using a map or GPS coordinates.

So far, the 10 outdoor barn quilts (more are planned) on the trail feature classic designs such as variation stars, turkey tracks, and double pinwheels.

Using sign-painter’s paint on aluminum, Garrett County artist Ginni Neff creates the “quilts” from a tiny picture, which she mathematically enlarges to the finished size. The designs come from barn owners and sponsors, she says, “and there’s usually something sentimental to them.”

Some barn quilts are unique to the farms’ owners, such as the LeMoyne star on Gary and Kate Fratz’s circa-1898 red barn on U.S. 219 in Accident. The block was sponsored by Gary’s sister, Wilma Edwards, of McHenry.

Others are sponsored by individuals in memory of loved ones, such as the Ohio star Connie Yingling purchased to honor her grandmother. It graces Wendell and Ruth Beitzel’s barn on Rock Lodge Road.

Of 20 entries, Neff’s own Garrett County-themed block won a local design contest, so the artist sponsored that block herself. It was the seventh quilt block installed by the nonprofit and adorns a barn owned and restored by Kenney Signs.

Sponsors of Garrett’s barn quilts pay $300 for a typical 8-by-8-foot block, which the association owns.

The quilts must be mounted on barns at authentic working farms, says Williams, and they must be visible from the road. There are some 600 working farms in Garrett County, she adds, so “within the next three years, there could be as many as 100 barn quilts on the trail.

“It’s that popular.”

Having seen similar programs in Ohio, Garrett County Arts Council Director Karen Reckner brainstormed the barn-quilt idea for Garrett a couple years ago with Williams and two other women, Joyce Bishoff and Cheryl DeBerry.

So far, it’s been very good for the region.

Not only does the barn quilt trail honor the county’s agricultural heritage, says Williams, it also “helps visitors see the rest of Garrett County, not just Deep Creek Lake.”

Visit www.garrettbarnquilts.org to download a tour map, GPS coordinates, and a copy of the 15-page “Barn Quilt Activity & Guide Book.” Brochures and maps are also available at the Garrett County Visitor’s Center, located at 15 Visitors Center Drive in McHenry. For more information, call 1-877-577-BARN (2276).