The Haywood County Arts Council’s Quilt Trails project will unveil its first quilt block in Maggie Valley at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, at the Maggie Valley Town Hall.

The Maggie Valley Town Hall block is the fifth block on the Haywood County Trail, joining other blocks on the Shelton House in Waynesville, and the Shook House, Lil’s, and Haywood institute in Clyde.

The Town Hall block design is a traditional Little Red School House pattern selected and purchased by the High Country Quilters and given to the Town of Maggie Valley as a gift. Elsie Orrell, president of the High Country Quilters Guild and Kay Ross, member of the Guild presented the Guild’s proposal in late 2010 at a Town Hall meeting where the Town Board voted to hang the block on the left front of the building which was originally a school house.

The four-foot-by-four-foot wooden block was painted using traditional colors of vivid red and bright white and will be on the left side of the building near the front entrance. The block can be easily viewed and photographed from Soco Road or from the parking lot of the Maggie Valley Town Hall.  

The beautiful rock school house was built in 1930 with assistance from the W.P.A. at a cost of $8,000. It consisted of four classrooms, an auditorium, and indoor plumbing. Families in the community donated sled loads of rock which mostly came from nearby creeks.

In 1952, two brick classrooms and a cafeteria were added. The building was used as an elementary school until 1986. For 80 years the building has served as a stabilizing force in the community as a center for education, sometimes as a place of worship, sometimes as a clinic, sometimes for quilt shows, and other times for meetings to grow a better community. The former school now houses the Town Hall and the Maggie Valley Library.

Anyone who would like a quilt block installed on their barn or building, or need more information about the Haywood County Quilt Trails project, can call Kay S. Miller, executive director at the Haywood County Arts Council at 828.452.0593 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Who: Haywood County Arts Council and Haywood County Quilt Trails

What: Unveiling of First Quilt Block in Maggie Valley at the Maggie Valley Town Hall

When: April 26 at 5 p.m.

Where: Maggie Valley Town Hall