New Milford is home to a unique trail that honors the town's agricultural roots.
The Barn Quilt Trail on rural roads throughout New Milford consists of 19 colorful quilt patterns strung across vintage barns and historical buildings. Some of the buildings are still in use today, such as Harris Hill Farm.
“Harris Hill Farm is still an active farm. In 2013, our barn quilt block was the first one that went up," says Susan Bailey, who runs the farm.
Bailey says New Milford was once a large farming community.
“Tobacco was huge in our area and dairy farming, and of course now things have changed a little bit, but there is still a lot of active farming,” she says.
Julie Bailey, a volunteer of the Barn Quilt Trail, says the project revealed to many residents the town’s rich agricultural history that not many people knew of.
“If I'm being honest, New Milford is what you call a passing-through town to Litchfield County, and what we wanted people to do is realize if you stop in New Milford, you can find everything you want,” she says. “We thought that not only it would be wonderful to really showcase what our farmers are doing…but also a reason to stop in New Milford and linger.”
The project was stitched together by the community. Organizers say they want to thank Sustainable CT for helping to fund the expansion of the quilt trail.