Connecting Borders Barn Quilt Trail

Adorns First Historical Building with Barn Quilt

The Rural Klamath Connects is ready to install the first of ten barn quilt blocks that will be completed in 2020 for the long awaited “Connecting Borders Barn Quilt Trail” project. This project, along with others across the nation, celebrates the rich history in our communities with specially designed, hand painted, 8 x 8 foot wooden quilt blocks that adorn historical barns and buildings. The project started in 2015 and has taken a huge effort from volunteers in Tulelake and Dorris, California and Merrill, Malin and Bonanza, Oregon.  The trail unites five unique, rural communities, two states and as the amount of barn quilts increase, will become a tourist destination with vehicle pull outs and multi-media information about the building, quilt and community.  In addition to fundraising, grant writing, locating prospective historical buildings and working with the owners of the building, these volunteers have tirelessly worked to create a barn quilt trail that will attract a wide variety of tourists to our community.

Tulelake City Council woman Penny Velador is delighted that the first barn quilt will be in Tulelake and says, “What I really love about the Barn Quilt Trail is that it adds a touch of beauty for people to stop and take notice of in our towns.  I love this idea!  The Barn Quilts will be our hidden treasures. The effort of the volunteers to bring together the five communities is so appreciated.”

Rural Klamath Connects would like to thank the Siskiyou Arts Council, Travel Oregon, Oregon Community Foundation and The Ford Family Foundation for their financial assistance, along with individual donations of time and resources from the amazing Barn Quilt Trail Team.

The first barn quilt was installed on Thursday, May 28, 2020 at the Tulelake Cold Storage building in Tulelake, California at 2:00 p.m. (4299 Highway 139). The press and public are invited to share this milestone with the volunteers and community leaders.
This is an outside event, there is plenty of room for social distancing, so please join us in celebrating the unveiling of our first art piece.