It all began with Donna Sue Groves wanting to add some color to a drab tobacco barn on the Adams County farm she purchased with her mother in 1989. A former city commissioner in Xenia and longtime arts administrator, Groves thought a large quilt square painted on the barn would do that, as well as pay tribute to the accomplishments of her mother, noted quilter Maxine Groves. What started as a public art project to paint quilt squares on a few barns and develop a driving trail to entice tourists to visit Adams County caught on with neighboring communities, then counties, then states. The project, which now encompasses 22 states and British Columbia, is called the National Quilt Trail, and is an entirely grassroots, volunteer, locally planned and implemented initiative. It is estimated that more than 1,800 quilt squares now adorn barns, flood walls and community structures across the continent.

Due to health concerns, Donna Sue will be replaced by Nancy Osborne, who has spearheaded the Quilt Barn Trail in Kentucky.