Quilt blocks representing Rolla and communities across the state — including Texas County — are featured in the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt, which will be on display for a final stop in the Phelps County area at the State Historical Society of Missouri Rolla Research Center, Curtis Laws Wilson Library, second floor, on the Missouri Science and Technology campus at Rolla.
The quilt exhibition runs May 3 – June 14. A public reception for the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt will be held 4-6 p.m. May 3. In addition, quilts from participating nearby counties will also be on display at the reception. For the six-week exhibition, the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt will be exhibited during regular visiting hours at the State Historical Society of Missouri Rolla Research Center.
Using one block from each of Missouri’s 114 counties and the City of St. Louis, the quilt showcases the diversity of Missouri’s culture, people and geography. To honor Missouri’s 200 years of statehood, the State Historical Society, Missouri Star Quilt Company and the Missouri State Quilters Guild teamed up to find quilters for each of the individual quilt blocks. Quilters from across the state submitted 6.5 x 6.5-inch blocks to represent the county where the live or have a connection. Over the winter of 2019-2020, Missouri Star Quilt Company stitched the blocks together and gave the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt its final look.
“Due to popular demand, we are excited to extend the tour of the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt into 2022 so more people can see it in their region before it is placed at the Missouri Quilt Museum,” said Beth Pike, Missouri Bicentennial coordinator for the State Historical Society of Missouri. “The quilt has brought many people together to tell a story of who we are and how we see ourselves and fellow Missourians in other counties. One of our goals for the bicentennial commemorations was to help start and continue that conversation across the state,” said Pike.