Mary Alice Pemble Barton
(1917 - 2003)
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Collector, donor of quilts, fabrics and periodicals, playwright, award winning quilter
Inducted in The Quilters Hall of fame in 1984 at the Continental Quilting Congress, Arlington,
Virginia.
Research Associate: Pat Nickols
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Mary calls her work, "independent research, conservations and preservation." She not only collected
quilts but also costumes and other textiles, as evidence in the process of dating quilts.
Mary wrote a play "Aunt Mary's Quilting Party" in 1968 for the Faculty Wives Club at Iowa State
University. Her quilt making included her "Heritage Quilt Exposition and Contest in Warren, Michigan,
and more recently was selected as one of the 20th Century's 100 Best American Quilts.
Her fame began when she lectured at quilt conferences and set up a "Study Center" at the 1983
Heirloom to Heirloom Quilt Conference, Ames, Iowa, and at the 6th Continental Quilting Congress,
1984. In addition to quilts, the center featured her collection of fabrics and scrapbooks full of quilt
patterns, articles and advertisements.
Her collection of quilts and other quilt related items was donated to the Iowa State Historical Museum,
the Living History Farms, Iowa State University and other Iowa organizations.
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