Ronald Hill stands with a 3-by-3 quilt square on June 18 that he later hung on the covered bridge on his property.

Ronald Hill stands with a 3-by-3 quilt square on June 18 that he later hung on the covered bridge on his property.
By Kelly Doran
Sun staff

The president of the Clermont County Historical Society is working very hard to start a quilt barn trail in the county, a popular trend across the country.

It started when a Donna Sue Groves in Adams County put squares of plywood painted to look like a quilt piece on barns in the county to honor her mother, who was a quilter, according to the national quilt barn website.

Now it’s popular across the county, including more than 30 counties in Ohio with quilt barn trails, Ronald Hill said.

“It shows our heritage, because quilting has been a thing for hundreds of years,” Hill said.

The quilt squares also show a quilter’s interest in art, Hill said.

“You put one of these up and people are attracted by the art of it,” Hill said.

Counties will put out pamphlets with a map of the trail, a history of the design on each barn, the painter and any sponsors, Hill said.

The typical size of a quilt barn square is 8 feet by 8 feet and is made with certain types of plywood, such as marine plywood. It costs about $1,500 to have one painted, Hill said.

There have been several attempts to spark interest among residents about having a trail in Clermont County but they have not been successful, Hill said. About a year ago, Hill and Donna Amann, with the Milford Historical Society, started talking about trying to start one in the county.

Hill and Amann decided to start by finding out how many quilt barns already exist in the county, but there has not been much of a response.

Hill plans to work with the other historical societies and the townships in the county in the hopes that members and staff will contact him if they know of any or come across any.

If there are five or so, Hill believes they can put together a short trail, which he hopes will spark interest so more barn owners will put a square on their barn.

So far, Hill knows there are at least three in the county, but he has not had much response to his requests for information.

Amann met with the Farm Bureau and Hill met with the Clermont County Convention and Visitors Bureau but both did not get much interest from the organizations.

If Hill is able to get a trail together, he believes it will bring visitors to the county.