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Missouri Bicentennial Quilt at Wilder Home Oct. 7-11

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Since the pioneer days of the American Midwest, quilts have been a cornerstone of Missouri culture, fashion and tradition.

In honor of our Missouri’s 200 years of statehood, the State Historical Society of Missouri and Missouri Star Quilt Company, in partnership with the Missouri State Quilters Guild, teamed up to create the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt. Using one quilt block for each and every Missouri county and the independent City of St. Louis, the quilt reflects the unique characteristics of Missouri culture, region and style.

The Missouri Bicentennial Quilt is traveling through the state during the bicentennial year of 2021. It will be on display in Mansfield at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home and Museum. The quilt will be open to the public from Oct. 7-11 in the lobby of the main museum building. It can be viewed from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 12:30- 5 p.m. on Sunday at no charge. If you cannot make it to see the quilt, the Missouri 2021 team has developed a digital exhibition for viewing at https://missouri2021.org/missouri-bicentennial-quilt/.

“We knew we wanted to do something truly statewide that would reach every county in some way, shape, or form even in a minimal way,” says Michael Sweeney, Missouri Bicentennial coordinator with the State Historical Society of Missouri. “A lot of these blocks are expressions of place and an opportunity to view them together and to put them in conversation was something we aimed for,” said Sweeney.

The winning submission for Wright County is entitled “Pa’s Fiddle.” It was created by Vicki Johnston, Norwood. The designer is Barbara Bangser. Of the submission Johnston says, “Mrs. Wilder arrived in Wright County, Missouri, 127 years ago and made Rocky Ridge Farm her home for 63 years. This is the peaceful setting where she wrote the Little House Books. It is also the final home for Pa’s Fiddle. Mrs. Wilder also wrote for the Missouri Ruralist from 1911-1924 describing and speaking about Wright County, Missouri and its beauty. She is certainly part of the fabric of our county’s history.”

Quilt block submissions were judged according to whether they met criteria, level of creativity and craft, and description of significance to be considered as part of the quilt. The judging committee included representatives from Missouri Star Quilt Company, the State Historical Society of Missouri and Missouri State Quilters Guild. Over the winter of 2019-2020, Missouri Star Quilt Company stitched the blocks together and gave the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt its final look.

As the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt travels around the State of Missouri, it provides viewers with a unique visual opportunity to learn about the geographic and cultural diversity of Missouri and to identify some shared traits that make Missouri unique in the nation.

For more information, visit missouri2021.org and for a schedule of events and programs happening throughout the Missouri bicentennial year.