Quilt squares lure tourists through the countryside

A new initiative will encourage people to take a tour the backroads and appreciate the majestic beauty of Simcoe County’s barns. 

Hand painted quilt squares are being mounted on barns throughout the county to create the Simcoe County Barn Quilt Trail, a tourism initiative celebrating agricultural heritage. 

David Rogers is one of the first people to have a square mounted on his Clearview Township barn. The goal is to complete a trail of 150 quilt squares by the end of next year. 

The quilt squares, painted on eight-by-eight foot metal panels, can represent traditional patterns – like the log cabin, pinwheel or Texas star – but David chose to adapt one from a quilt his brother and sister-in-law made for him. 

The panel was installed last week at the Rogers family farm on Sunnidale Concession 7. 

The farm has been in the Rogers family since 1836, when George Rogers picked up the first title. It has since been farmed by five generations of Rogers. It’s where David, the youngest of five children, grew up and where he and his wife Anne raised their two children. 

So it was especially meaningful that David’s brother Raymond, after learning that the farm was to be included in the Simcoe County Barn Quilt Trail sent him a quilt all the way from Lloydminster, Alberta, as a gift. David used the quilt as inspiration for his panel and it was all the more meaningful that Raymond visited to help paint it. 

They decided to call it poppies for their parents, the late George and Helen Rogers. 

“Mom and Dad were quite the gardeners,” said David. “They used to grow poppies and when I saw this, it just fit.” 

David carefully simplified and adapted the pattern, making it suitable for the panel, with the help of Ruth Hurdle. It was painted in red and blue, also with the help of friend Susan Coté is mounted on a century old barn. The panel, facing the road, is actually attached to the newer part of the barn built in 1920, which is an addition to the original barn. David points out a stone windowsill in the older part of the barn engraved with the name of the builder, Joe Dumond of Brentwood, in 1900. 

The barn has been empty since 1990, when David went back to school to become a paramedic. Fifteen years later he embarked on a third career in waste management but he said he has vowed to maintain the barn and keep it in good repair. 

He said that is significant because many rural barns are falling into disrepair.

The County of Simcoe is looking for barns to be part of the Barn Quilt Trail. They must be visible from the road.

Barn owners are required to make a five-year commitment to the project. 

Paint is provided and volunteers are available to help with the process, but the barn owners make the choice about what pattern is used. Barn owners interested in participating are asked to contact project coordinator Ruth Sawyer at ruth.sawyer@simcoe.ca or 705-817-1513. Visit experience.simcoe.ca.