Mohicans in Morganton
On this day in 1826 The Last of the Mohicans, the second in a series of 5 novels by New Jersey author James Fennimore Cooper, was published. The book was adapted for film several times starting in 1912. The 1992 version of the film, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, was filmed in part in Western North Carolina in the Lake James community near the small town of Morganton (my home town).
This Tulip or Rose Tree quilt, made for a wedding gift, was entirely handmade by Sarah Elizabeth Brittain Walton of Morganton, N.C. around 1870. Sarah was a Scotch-Irish mother of six who was an expert seamstress and did all sorts of handiwork. Sarah’s granddaughter inherited the quilt and documented it during the North Carolina Quilt Project in 1986.
View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view.
Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-last-of-the-mohicans-is-published
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_of_the_Mohicans
Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org
I sure do enjoy this blog and the history tidbits. I love, love this quilt!
Thanks, Sue. Glad to have your feedback! Just realized this quiltmaker made two of the same quilt, as well as another variation of the Tulip pattern, and both are documented in the Index. She had six children–so she had a lot of wedding presents to make!