Person County Quilt Trail works to preserve Piedmont's agriculture history

The quilts are a part of Person County's Quilt Trail, a project that began in 2015.

The 29 quilts currently on the trail are painted with family heirlooms, or show the "history of or the present day working of the farm."

There are two museums on the trail -- Boar's Nest: A Duke's of Hazzard Museum, located at 4647 Helen Moriah Road in Rougemont, and the Person County Museum of History, located at 309 N. Main Street in Roxboro.

The R.P. Brooks General Store, office of Drs. William and John Merritt, Roxboro Male Academy/Methodist Parsonage, Home of Gov. William Kitchin, the Curtis E. Long Memorial House and a bell tower holding the bells from the Person County courthouses of 1826,1833 and 1930 are also located on the grounds for visitors to see.

The museum is projected to reopen in fall of 2021.

On the other end of the quilt trail is the Boar's Nest: A Duke's of Hazzard Museum. The museum, which is filled with memorabilia from the television show, is open to visitors on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In between, over two dozens quilts adorn parts of Timberlake, Roxboro, Milton and Hurdle Mills.

Many of the quilt sites are between a 1 to 5 minute drive from each other.

While some of the quilts pay homage to the history of Person County, other quilt showcase deep, personal meaning for the farmers that have placed them on their barns.

The Russell Horton Quilt, located at 7035 Hurdle Mills Road in Hurdle Mills, uses a pattern made by members of the Horton family. The quilt hangs on a barn on the property that was built in the 1950s.

Other quilts honor family members, such as the Mick and Harriet Whitfield Clayton quilt, located at 1956 Robert Whitfield Road in Hurdle Mills. It showcases a rooster in the middle in honor of the Whitfield farm owner's father, who raised chickens. The barn has been standing in Person County since the 1800s.

Not all the quilts are representative of the past.

On Southern Middle School's campus hangs a quilt square created by sixth grade art students. The quilt is adorned with a black, blue and white pattern -- the school's colors.

Students also helped create the design for the quilt square on Person County's Tourism Development Authority's building at 29 Reams Avenue in Roxboro. Students at Roxboro Community School designed a pineapple-themed pattern with bright colors.

While quilt trail visitors are encouraged to stop on the road and take pictures of the beautiful patchwork, visitors are also reminded to be cognizant of private property.

The good news is that visitors may be able to buy seasonal fruits or vegetables from farms participating in the quilt trail.