WEEKENDER BLOG

Throughout the backwoods and city streets of Black Hawk County a colorful array of pictured stories have been popping up along side barns, garage doors, and homes. The Barn Quilts of Black Hawk County have been around for a while however the completion of the Western Home “Windmill” and “Seasons of our Lives” display began the process of collecting and organizing the barn quilts of Black Hawk County into a tour.

There are currently 28 barn quilts on the tour and the list keeps growing. The barn quilts can be seen in Cedar Falls, Waterloo and then reaching out to all four corners of the county with barn quilts located in Finchford, Buckingham, Jesup, and Dunkerton. The tour being offered through the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Center is approximately two hours and visits fifteen different locations. These tours are offered for groups of ten or more and can be set up by calling the tourism office at (319) 268-4266.

If you are more of a do it yourself type of person a map and turn by turn directions can be found on the Cedar Falls Tourism and Visitors Bureau website. The tour put together by the Tourism and Visitors Bureau and Rosemary Beach takes you through the city to the countryside and is jam packed with interesting historical facts about area attractions. The tour passes the Western Home Barn, the Ice House Museum, Antique Acres, the meeting of the Shell Rock and Cedar Rivers, the Martyr’s Retreat House, the site of the Halloween Mark Murders and many more very interesting places.

So, if you are in the mood for a weekend drive and want to learn some new facts about the place you call home, or if you are from out of the county and are an avid barn quilt lover, or if you are just passing through and are looking for something to do this tour is perfect for you!

Happy barn quilt hunting!

Picture taken by Ruth Ratliff

Written by Chelsea Hartman

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