Missouri Bicentennial Quilt Travel Exhibition Extended Into 2022

The State Historical Society of Missouri is extending the exhibition of the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt through the fall of 2022.

The quilt, featuring blocks from all 114 Missouri counties and the independent City of St. Louis, has been on display in communities across the state since 2020. The one-of-a-kind quilt was to finish touring at the end of the year.

With overwhelming interest by the public to have more opportunities to see the quilt, the State Historical Society will be hosting an exhibition of the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt at each of its six statewide research centers: Columbia, St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Rolla, Springfield and Kansas City.

In late 2018, the State Historical Society of Missouri and Missouri Star Quilt Company, in partnership with the Missouri State Quilters Guild, teamed up to create the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt.

For the next year, quilters sent in 6.5 inch by 6.5 inch blocks to represent the county where they live or have a connection. Over the winter of 2019-2020, Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton stitched the blocks together and gave the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt its final look.

“The Missouri Bicentennial Quilt has been one of our most popular bicentennial projects,” says Beth Pike, who has been traveling with the quilt for the State Historical Society of Missouri. “The quilt brought so many people together and tells a story of who we are in this state and how we see ourselves and our neighbors in other counties. Each block is unique just like each region in Missouri,” Pike said.

Once the exhibition at the State Historical Society of Missouri research centers ends in September 2022, plans are for the quilt to be on long-term loan with the Missouri Quilt Museum in Hamilton. The community is also home to the Missouri Star Quilt Company, which attracts tens of thousands of tourists each year to the small town in Caldwell County, northeast of Kansas City.

Missouri Bicentennial Quilt Exhibition:

Dec. 14 -Jan. 28, 2022 – Columbia/Center for Missouri Studies

Feb. 1 – March 11, 2022 – SHSMO St. Louis Research Center

March 15 – April 29, 2022 – SHSMO Cape Girardeau Research Center

May 3 – June 14, 2022 – SHSMO Rolla Research Center

June 15- July 29, 2022–  SHSMO Springfield Research Center

Aug. 2 – Sept. 15, 2022 – SHSMO Kansas City Research Center