Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Century-old quilt returns home
Feb. 12, 2024 12:37 pm
NORTH ENGLISH -- A rare and historic Name Quilt has been donated to the English Valleys History Center after nearly a century in the possession of the Thomas family.
Over the years,the quilt had traveled through Iowa, Colorado, and Wyoming. This month it landed back in North English.
Direct descendants of the Thomas family met and decided the quilt belonged in North English. On Saturday, February 3, Danny and Kris Thomas took the quilt to North English from their home in Humeston.
The quilt features 672 names of North English-area residents. The population of the town in 1900 was 683. The population is over 1,000 as of the 2020 census.
The quilt was originally organized, sponsored and created by the Dorcas Circle, a women's group affiliated with the Christian Church in town.
According to the North English Record newspaper, the quilt was sold at the annual bazaar of the Dorcas Society Nov. 25, 1925, as a fundraiser for their local and mission work. It sold for $80.
The English Valleys History Center is researching the quilt and is seeking additional information or stories about the quilt and the Dorcas Circle of North English from descendants of those early families.