Mary Bywater Cross
Mary Bywater Cross, an independent scholar in the field of quilt history since 1981, takes the value of quilts as visual records of human experience beyond the confines of the traditional quilting world to the broader public. Her research is published in the American Quilt Study Group's journal Uncoverings. Her findings published in two books on quilts of migration, made by and for women who traveled the Oregon and Mormon Trails. She curated exhibits of historic and contemporary quilts for regional museums and educational institutions and lectured in Canada, England, and across America. She traveled Oregon as an Oregon Council of Humanities Chautauqua Speaker for six years. Mary served as the Oregon Quilt Documentation Project Committee advisor and grant writer.
Author's Entries
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Afro-American Heritage Bicentennial Commemorative Quilt
The Afro-American Bicentennial Commemorative Quilt, in the collections of the Oregon Historical Society, depicts five hundred years of national equality issues and African American personalities in the United States. In 1974, independent scholar Mrs. Osly J. (Jeannette McPherson) Gates conceived the idea of making a quilt as part of …
Oregon Encyclopedia
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Oregon Trail quilts
Quilts made by and for women who traveled the Oregon Trail between 1840 and 1870 are known as Oregon Trail quilts. They were often made over an extended period of time or a sweep of distance and can be considered quilts of migration. Unlike quilts made for warmth and protection, …
Oregon Encyclopedia
