The schoolhouse quilt block at the Nathanael Greene Museum was chosen because it pays homage to the fact that the Museum is located in Greeneville's first high school. Although the museum does not have a school house quilt in its collection, it is seeking to add one to the collection. The Museum, the largest regional museum in Northeast TN, displays a 64 square foot School House quilt square. It was unveiled on Saturday, October 18, 2009, and is set in a diamond shaped pattern of yellow bricks near the building entrance. This event marked "the first of a first" because Greeneville was the first municipality included in the Northeast TN Quilt Trail and the Nathanael Greene Quilt Square was the first quilt square to be featured in Greeneville. The museum's 11 permanent exhibits span the history of Greene County and two Greene County natives, Davy Crocket and President Andrew Johnson are highlighted. A mural of Crocket's life experiences leads the smallest visitor into the Children's Adventure room, where they may walk among an Indian village and crawl through a bear den. The life size log cabin in reminiscent of Crocket's birth place. Through a focused selection of artifacts in the President's Gallery, visitors will explore the family life of President Andrew Johnson, a deep and complex politician. An added dimension of Johnson's life is outlined in the Paths To Freedom Exhibit, where the visitor will come to understand the struggle to end slavery in Greene County. The visitor is then lead into a gallery that celebrates the contributions of Greene County African Americans. The Civil War gallery continues the stories of Greene County soldiers, such as the "Bridge Burners," as well as the death of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan. The Veteran's Honor Gallery pays homage to the full range Greene County soldiers who served from the Revolutionary War to the War in Iraq.

As a state chartered, non-profit organization, the mission of the Nathanael Greene Museum is to entertain and educate our visitors. We do this through collecting, preserving and presenting information and artifacts of historic relativity to Greene County and its neighboring counties.

For those visitors interested in fine furniture and the elegant lifestyles of Greene County residents, the museum's collection of antiques will illustrate the promise of 19th century America. To complete the story of the Quilt Square, the museum boasts of a collection of East Tennessee woven coverlets and Greene County quilts, both of which are prominently displayed. In October 2009, the museum will host the month-long exhibit :"The History of Greene County Quilts."

The art center and custom jewelry studio specializes in works by 150 Tennessee artists and artisans who range from Memphis to Bristol including 30 Greene County folks. Voted #1 Gallery in the Mountain South by the readership of Marquee Mountain South, touted as the must see gallery of East Tennessee by Moon Travel Books, acclaimed in a 2003 issue of Crafts Report as one of only 5 Southeastern Regional galleries in Tennessee and suggested by Blue Ridge Country Magazine as a activity to do in its 36 Downtown Weekends. The Art Center features classes within The Artisan Cooking School, plus various fine art and crafts media workshops presented by the affiliated artists and artisans.

Partners James-Ben Stockton and Daniel Luther, working in the bottega style, co-create commissioned custom-designed, wearable art jewelry within James-Ben: Designer/Artisan Studio utilizing gold, silver, platinum, gemstones, hand-made bead forms and found elements. Celebrating over 37 years as a producing artist, James-Ben is deeply rooted in the art of the Southeast. Tennessee born and trained, he states, "My process has returned to my Tennessee mountain heritage, reflecting alchemist experiences and practical magic. Working with patrons in the co-creative experience, my commissioned works synergize the client's personal style and preference with my professional skills and technical vocabulary."

According to the reverse edge of the quilt, it was pieced by Great-Grandmother Elizabeth Farnsworth, 1865, Greeneville, TN. Presented to the Andrew Johnson Presidential Site in the late 1970's by Mrs. Davis, great-niece of James Brannon who built the Homestead which he later traded to Johnson for his Early Home and $950. The quilt is presently displayed over the foot of Johnson's bed in the Homestead's master bedroom.

This quilt block pattern is unknown for sure. It appears to be a Sawtoothed Sunburst.

The Baskette Farm is located in Fall Branch, in a community once known as Cave Springs. Cave Springs Baptist Church was established by community members in 1879. A community member, Sarah Baskett Brandon, was apparently quite adept at tatting, or making lace, and was said to "love lace." It caught on and the entire community and church was renamed Lovelace. The church minutes reflect the decision to change the name to Lovelace Baptist church in December 1880. The farm has remained in the Baskette name as far back as 1841, although for unknown reasons the name has evolved over the years, originally Basket, then Baskett, now Baskette.

William and Mary Mullennix Basket were the original owners. Their son, William M. Baskett was born in 1813. William and his wife, Patience, had several daughters, and four sons: John Bernard, James G., Reuben, and George William (G.W.). John Bernard, Reuben and G.W. all fought for the Union Army in the Civil War. Soon after volunteering, Reuben contacted typhoid and died. John Bernard and G.W. both returned, and John Bernard moved west. G.W. married Mary Keen and they had three children. Mary died at age 42, and G.W. later married Eunicy Brandon, and they had one son, Alf. Alf married Nell Taylor and they had two children, Walter and Norma. Walter's son, Bill, and his wife, Melissa, currently live on the farm with their children, Carly and Will.

The barn was built in 1901 by G.W. Baskett, replacing the original structure that had burned. G.W.'s son, Alf, was 15 years old at the time and it is told that he was enlisted to help. Probably others in the community helped also. All boards were replaced in 2005 by Carl Shepard and his crew due to rotting wood and termite damage.

Walnut Ridge is dedicated to breeding a new generation of quality llamas with strong confirmation, a stretchy balance, and gentle dispositions. They invite you to visit the farm and share the excitement that llamas have added to their lives.Walnut Ridge Llamas & Store is located in a small community called Chuckey in the northeast tip of East Tennessee, near the North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia borders. The owners, Jerry and Carolyn Ayers, live in a log cabin on approximately 19 acres with the Smoky Mountains in full view. Jerry has been an elementary, middle, and high school principal for the last 16 years and currently is the Director/Principal of the Greeneville/Greene County Center for Technology. Carolyn taught elementary school for 13 years and decided to retire early to spend time raising llamas and operating the couples' agritourism venture called "The Llama Store."

Walnut Ridge Llama Farm is located in the beautiful Tennessee Valley and is dedicated to raising quality llamas.

Myers Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze offers a wide variety of fall entertainment for the whole family. The expansive corn maze is an enjoyable way to spend a couple hours or a whole day, and the farm also offers pumpkin picking, hot dog roasting, crafts, hay rides, and much more.

Spend a few hours or a whole day exploring the pumpkin patch, corn maze, or craft store, all while enjoying the rural scenery at Myers Pumpkin Patch.

Myers offers group rates and accommodations for field trips, youth groups, family reunions, etc. The maze is closed during the day for school trips but is open nightly and on weekends to the public

Home Grown Pride is a quilt pattern developed through a combined effort of Sandee Cook, co-owner of Cooks Greenhouses, and friends Kimberly Schneider, artist and Downtown Johnson City business owner, and Lynn Frierson, textile artist and quilter. Sandee enlisted her friends help to accomplish her goal of representing garden/plant growth and tradition in the design of a quilt square for display at her greenhouse operation in Greene County. She feels this has been accomplished in that the design depicts home grown American pride, with the basket of growing plants and incorporating a representation of the American Flag.

Encourage local agriculture and eat some tasty heirloom tomatoes, herbs, and peppers or landscape with beautiful annuals and ornamental grasses.

Sandee and her husband, Steve, moved to Northeast Tennessee in 2000 and found what they were looking for some flat land as well as gently rolling hills with a view of the mountains. Their dream was to have a catfish pond or two, and to build a greenhouse. Sandee and Steve, and their oldest son, Eric Ensign, built the greenhouse structures themselves, with electrical work done by Future Builders, Inc. of Greeneville. The greenhouse operation began in 2001. Cooks Greenhouses offers heirloom tomatoes, herbs (both medicinal and culinary), peppers, annuals and ornamental grasses.

The quilt pattern selected to hang at Rural Resources, Grandmother's Flower Garden, has great significance to the Rural Resources' farm because the quilt that inspired it was made right here by Lizzie Brown Dobson in the early 1900's. Lizzie Dobson was the grandmother of Emily Dobson Childress one of the owners of the Rural Resources farm. Emily with her husband Harold and grandsons Carson, Hayden, & Spencer Correll and Elliot Childress helped to paint this pattern along with friends and neighbors including Valerie Wall, a local artist who also provided the detailed work in the pattern, Amanda Barger Gricunus, Mark Honeycutt, Dane Hinkle, Katherine Brown, Bill & Barbara Price, Chris & Ethan Stewart, Lynn Stone, and Sally Causey. In the early 1990's, two of Lizzie Dobson's great grandchildren and their wives (Watt and Jennifer Childress and Larry and Karen Childress) returned to the farm to learn about and practice sustainable agriculture. Immediately, they saw that farmland in the area was being sold for development at an alarming rate, decided that they wanted to try to do something to support farmland preservation, and Rural Resources was born.

Today, Rural Resources is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the community in the preservation and improvement of agricultural land, preserving our rural heritage, and developing a locally sustainable system of producing and marketing agricultural products. With offices located in a renovated barn on the farm, a variety of programs are coordinated in an effort to sustain family farms. They include a Farm Day Camp for children, Organic Gardening classes, Workshops for farmers, the Downtown Greenville Farm & Garden Market, The Four Seasons Grazing Club, the Farm to Community Food Project and more.

Learn all about sustainable agriculture and the importance of farmland preservation at Rural Resources Farm.