HOWE, Ind. – Brightly colored painted quilts have been mounted on barns in several Indiana counties with the goal of promoting agritourism and community pride, according to organizers of barn quilt trails in the state.

The first trail in Indiana was created in Marshall County in the late 2000s. Participating counties generally offer maps detailing the routes for self-guided tours of the trails.

Karen Weiland, an artist in LaGrange County, heard about barn quilts in 2010 while attending a board meeting of the county’s convention and visitors bureau. A representative from Marshall County discussed the program at the meeting.

“After the meeting, I went to the director and said, ‘I want to do this,’” she recalled. “We formed a committee and opened the first barn quilt tour in 2011. At first, applications came in fast and furious. There was a lot of interest.”

To participate, barn or business owners must fill out an application. The potential site for the barn quilt will be visited to be sure traffic won’t be a problem and to ensure the quilt will be clearly visible from the road, Weiland said.

“The main idea for me was to promote tourism in the county,” she noted. “Shipshewana is the main tourist attraction in the county but in reality, there’s a lot more to LaGrange County than Shipshewana. During a drive through the country, you come across a lot of mom and pop shops.

“There’s also art appreciation. Quilts really are a form of art. There are so many colors, so many patterns, it’s endless. Also, it’s a community pride thing.”

The quilts showcase local history, Weiland said. “Some of the quilts are replicas of quilts that maybe someone’s great-grandmother made. It’s about the history of that family living on the farm. People say they want their grandmother’s quilt on their barn. Some just think it’s a cool idea.”

Economic support, especially of smaller businesses, is another benefit, she added.

The idea of a barn quilt trail started with a woman from Ohio, Thom Kleckner said. He and his wife Connie are trail volunteers in Marshall County. The Ohio woman wanted to honor her mother, who had been a quilter all her life. After her mother died, the woman painted one of her favorite quilts on her barn. “Others saw it and said they’d like to do that too,” he explained. “Now there’s some sort of barn tour in almost every state in the union.”

Connie Kleckner said the trail helps boost tourism in the county. “People are exploring the countryside and the farming part of America,” she noted. “When people follow the maps, they’re on country roads and off the highways. If people are interested in quilting at all, I would say it’s a fun trip. It’s educational.”

Marshall County’s tour is divided into quadrants. Each tour takes about two hours. Some locations have more than one quilt and some quilts that aren’t a part of the official tour have popped up too, Connie Kleckner said.

Those interested in having a barn quilt in Marshall County must fill out an application, said Jessica Beatty, operations director for the county convention and visitors bureau. In addition to asking about location, the application requests information about the design and colors to be used.

Beatty said people participate “to be a part of what the community is doing. Also, they want to participate in the art activity in the county.”

Thom Kleckner cautioned that people who don’t want visitors driving up close to theirs barns to get a better look shouldn’t install a quilt. He said people have come from such places as Florida, Georgia and Texas to see the county’s barn quilts.

Approved applicants can get help with design, painting and installation of their quilts in both counties.

Weiland said she’s painted hundreds of quilts on barns in Indiana and other states.

“We can help decide the size and pattern if they want,” she stated. “If they don’t have a pattern idea, they can search the internet and find many ideas. A design that’s a little simpler is easier to take in (by visitors) than one with an intricate pattern. Stay away from pastels, light colors. You want some bright colors that show up.”

In Marshall County, Thom Kleckner does the designs and color renditions. “People may say I want this color, this color and this color,” he said. “I look at (the design) and think this isn’t going to look how they think it will. I’ll put together a design and many times, they end up wanting what I’ve come up with.”

Both counties offer quilts in sizes of 4-by-4 feet and 8-by-8 feet.

Connie Kleckner has painted many barn quilts in Marshall County. “There’s kind of a proud feeling (when she sees her quilts on the barns). It does bother me when someone has let their quilts go. I don’t want to see anything destroyed.”

She said the quilts are guaranteed for two years through the tourism bureau.

Weiland said she loves seeing the quilts she painted on the barns. “It makes me feel so good. It makes me feel so proud. It’s just cool. It makes me happy.”

Thom Kleckner said that during the Underground Railroad era, quilt patterns were used to help guide slaves as they moved north. One pattern might indicate a place to stay or where to get a meal, while others might indicate directions.

For more information and trail maps for Marshall and LaGrange counties, go to www.visitmarshallcounty.org or https://visitshipshewanain.com/trails-and-tours/.