Elgin County's Barn Quilt Trail

Barn quilts are large wooden squares painted to resemble a quilt block that has significance for the location in which it is found. They are usually hung on the side of barns by the land's owners, who create the design based on the properties’ heritage. When there are many quilts in the same area, they become a trail which you can follow, discovering each location’s depiction of their history. The purpose of these barn quilts are to tell a story, draw attention to unmarked historical places, make a themed trail, and lead visitors from one site to the next.

Elgin County is home to its very own barn quilt trail consisting of many barn quilts, all of which depict a different story about Elgin’s history. Here are the locations and stories of some of these barn quilts, which you can visit yourself to learn more! ​

1) Peace Star
20272 Talbot Line, West Elgin
Hosted by Ford Farm
Thomas Ford of Edinburgh emigrated to the United States in 1808, but after he was forced to fight his countrymen in the War of 1812, he left the country to settle here. His sixth generation descendant works the land today. The colours of the barn quilt represent the Ford tartan.

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2) All Tangled Up
24810 Talbot Line, Eagle
Hosted by McKillop Family
The McKillop farm is now managed by the seventh generation, after Duncan McKillop emigrated from Scotland on the ship Mars in 1818 and became one of the founders of Elgin County. The quilts’ colours represent the McKillop tartan. ​

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3) Welcome with Open Arms
28011 Ash Line, Wallacetown
Hosted by Lavender Sense Farm, Boutique, and Retreat
This is Elgin County's first barn quilt, at a farmstead deeded to Col. Thomas Talbot in 1821. The farm building that stands was built in 1884 to replace the original, which was lost in a fire. ​

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4) Irish Star
29424 Lakeview Line, Dutton-Dunwich
Hosted by Backus-Page House Barn
In 1809, Col. Talbot's first settlers arrived in this area, all of whom were related to Leslie Patterson of Ireland. Each of the star's points represent one of the four founding families: Backus, Patterson, Pearce, and Storey. ​

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5) Four Corners
28143 Talbot Line, Dutton-Dunwich
Hosted by Country Seat
These corners are named for Henry Coyne, who built an inn after arriving here in 1817. Wagons travelling to and from Tyrconnell often stopped at the hotels here, including the McGugan Hotel standing on the north side of the land. ​

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6) Rail Star
29593 Talbot Line, Wallacetown
Hosted by Community Hall
The Hall was moved from the British Commonwealth Air Training base at Fingal to this location after World War Two. The building was bricked over and now serves as a Community Centre. ​

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7) Wallacetown Fair Grounds
Wallacetown Fair Grounds
Hosted by Wallacetown Fair
The Wallacetown Fair Grounds have five barn quilts. The first is on the Commercial Building, entitled “Country Fair,” which captures the spirit of the fair by showing many colours uniting in a ferris wheel – the complete circle of the communities. The AG Building has a design with four green H’s, representing the 4H Clubs that have trained youth to carry on their way of life. On the Junior Fair Building, a quilt depicts pencils and crayons, signifying the children who showcase their talents at the fair. There is a Corn and Beans quilt on the Roots and Grains Building, representing their competitions for the best crops each year. Finally, the Homecraft Building has a quilt entitled “Log Cabin,” with a red block in the centre symbolizing the home fire, for the home items displayed here.​

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8) Star of Bethlehem
30312 Talbot Line, Dutton-Dunwich
Hosted by McKillop Farm
Archibald McKillop settled here in the early 1800s, near the McKillop Cemetery and Particular Covenanted Baptist Church founded by West Elgin Scots in the 1820s.

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9) Indian Trail
33280 Fingal Line, Southwold
Hosted by Brown Family
These corners are named after Col. Mahlon Burwell, who surveyed nearby land, then built a home and registry office on the northwest corner. A First Nations fort stands at the back of the Brown Farm, a National Historic Site open to the public. The design resembles bear claws. ​

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10) Grist Mill
37632 Fingal Line, Southwold
Hosted by Tufford Family
This is where Neil McAlpine settled in the 1830s, a man who saved the settlement by distributing seed wheat after frost destroyed the crop, asking for only the same amount back at harvest time. ​

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11) Log Cabin
38662 Fingal Line, Southwold
Hosted by Shaw Barn
This barn, built in 1912, stands near a village known as Middlemarch, named after George Elliott’s novel. The Chesapeake and Ohio rail line was built near this corner around the turn of the 19th century.  ​

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12) Corn & Beans
6679 Sunset Road, Union
Hosted by Hayhoe Farm
This farm produced some of the gravel that improved Sunset Road over the years, which was the main route from the lake to London before the building of the railway in 1853. ​

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13) Oak Plains
6071 Fairview Road, Central Elgin
Hosted by First Yarmouth Plains Baptist Church
The First Yarmouth Regular Baptist Church was established on the oak plains of South Yarmouth in November of 1830. The current building was erected in 1981, with an oak tree planted on the north lawn in 1991 in dedication to the congregation’s children.

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14) Evening Star
45358 Sparta Line, Central Elgin
Hosted by Haight-Zavitz House
This land once belonged to the Quaker Community’s first minister, Sarah Haight, who settled here in 1820. The family still owns the home, built in 1837.

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15) Sugar Maple
45644 Sparta Line, Central Elgin
Hosted by Burgess Barn
Early surveyors decided to build Sparta Line around a huge sugar maple located southeast of this barn, making the tree a landmark known as the Sparta Mile Maple. This is where the stage coach stopped to pick up locals’ mail for many years. ​

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16) Drunkard’s Path
Smith Street, Sparta
Hosted by Morgan Nina
With the rise of the temperance movement, two ministers and Dr. Shannon took a Sparta tavern’s license, prompting angry patrons to march down the street with torches, intending to burn the minister’s home. They were met by Dr. Shannon with his loaded shotgun, which changed their minds. ​

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17) Dove in Flight
6993 Quaker Road, St. Thomas
Hosted by Lynda Prong
This land was purchased in 1862 by Quakers William and Catherine Hilborn, whose descendants still own the farm today. The quilt’s dove is a Quaker symbol, while the cedar branch in its beak represents the many trees planted on the property.

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18) Baby Blocks
5277 Quaker Road, Central Elgin
Hosted by Winter Wheat
This house was built in 1840, home to artist Fred Sheppard. The property was purchased in 1995 by Mike Roberts and Lucy Ogletree, who established their folk-art business, Winter Wheat.

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19) Churn Dash
48075 Jamestown Line, Malahide
Hosted by Gay Lea Dairy Heritage Museum
This land is home to one of Ontario’s largest collections of dairy artifacts, built up over 30 years by former dairy farmers Andy and Lotty van Kasteren. In 2008, Gay Lea Foods purchased the museum, which is open to the public.

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20) Rippling Waters
47972 Rush Creek Road, Port Bruce
Hosted by Pineo Farm
Catfish Creek flows across from the barn, on which flour, lumber, and whisky were taken from the village of Jamestown to Port Bruce. The village was bought by Thomas Pineo in 1864, and now only a bridge stands where Jamestown once existed.

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21) Bike Wheel
50182 John Wise Line, Malahide
Hosted by Luton Community Centre
Luton native Perry Doolittle built the region’s first bicycle in the 1860s, and went on to invent a braking system that became widely used. He also helped found the Canadian Automobile Association, while advocating for good roads and a Trans-Canada road system. ​

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22) Pinwheel Star
51200 Vienna Line, Malahide
Hosted by Mennill Farm
This house was built in the 1870s, on a farm formerly producing tobacco. The TransCanada Trail follows this road to the village of Vienna, named by Thomas Edison’s grandfather after his ancestors’ birthplace.

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23) Compass Rose
17 Robinson Street, Port Burwell
Hosted by Port Burwell Lighthouse
The compass rose has appeared on maps since the 1300s, originally indicating wind direction but now used on all marine charts. The adjacent lighthouse is Canada’s oldest wooden lighthouse, built in 1840.

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24) Railway Crossing
56486 Heritage Line, Straffordville
A rail line ran through this farm for 90 years, transporting tourists to the beach and Ohio coal from Port Burwell to Tillsonburg.

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Check out the Elgin County Barn Quilt webpage to view a map of all of these amazing designs' locations!