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MAPLE
GROVE FARM
The
Dutch Doll quilt pattern is depicted on the
square hanging on the barn, dubbed “Whistle Pig Barn”,
at Maple Grove Farm. This pattern is also known as
Sunbonnet Sue, Bonnie Bonnet, or Sunbonnet Babies.
Whatever the name, it is one of the most widely
recognized quilt block patterns. The wooden square was
painted by Janet Carter Smith, great-granddaughter of
the original owners of Maple Grove Farm, Roy and May
Alexander Johnson. This Dutch doll was lovingly named
“May” after the delightful lady who brought her to life
in the quilt from which the square was copied. May
Johnson was known for her creative talents and her love
of color. She crafted the quilt for her granddaughter,
Nancy (the quilt square artist’s mother). May and Nancy
selected the brightly colored and patterned feed sacks
used for this quilt.
Nancy is the current owner of Maple
Grove Farm, and the treasured quilt still covers her
bed. Nancy continues her grandmother’s tradition of
quilting for her family.
Roy and May Johnson purchased the farm
in 1915. Roy built the barn in 1916. The lumber was
hewn on site with the help of neighbors. The house was
completed in 1917. The Johnsons raised dairy cattle,
hogs, chickens and peacocks. They farmed and sold
tobacco, corn, wheat, and hay. They were very active in
their church and community; Roy was a county squire and
May served as youth director at Zion Presbyterian
church. Interestingly, the farm’s Nolichucky River
boundary has been the site of an archeological dig, with
the discovery of artifacts of a village established by
one of the Woodland Indian tribes.
Visitors to Maple Grove Farm may
occasionally catch a glimpse of various members of
another family—a family of woodchucks, or groundhogs,
has always lived in a burrow under the barn. Being
very vocal animals, eliciting a loud, shrill whistle
when cornered, these animals are sometimes referred to
as a whistle pig here in the Appalachian
Mountains. Hence the name of the barn, Whistle Pig
Barn.
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