O.C. Knemeyer Building Barn Quilt - Waterville, WA
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 47° 38.849 W 120° 04.371
10T E 719826 N 5281272
Initially a post office and pool hall, one could reasonably assume this building to have been the busiest in town when built.
Waymark Code: WM10059
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 01/31/2019
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member macleod1
Views: 3
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The town of Waterville must have been in desperate need of either a pool hall or a new post office in 1914, as this building was completed by contractor E. Pfuller in 60 days for owner O.E. Knemeyer. The building marks the western edge of the Downtown Waterville Historic District.

This is one of the several buildings in the town to have been graced with a painted barn quilt. It is one of the quilts which comprise the Douglas County Barn Quilt Project trail.
Recently, a new idea to encourage community beautification and promote outside interest in the Waterville area was born. Barn Quilts of Douglas County is a new organization coordinating a project to bring barn quilts to the area. The nonprofit, all-volunteer group has begun its work after having received a grant from the Waterville Community Foundation.

Barn quilts are quilt blocks painted on signboard which is then placed on a gable end side of a barn or house, or mounted on posts to make it easily visible from the road. Barn quilts are unique and are crafted of patterns selected for personal or practical reasons.

Members of the Douglas County group are currently preparing two barn quilts and have several more on order. The project is countywide and heritage-honoring and will reflect appreciation of the agricultural economy. It is hoped that the barn quilts will draw visitors to Douglas County and boost local economy.
Read on at the Empire Press
Artist Paints Barn Quilt

By Suzanne Robinson | Oct 25, 2017
The Waterville Downtown Association enlisted the help of professional artist Lynne McCowin of Ellensburg to paint a barn quilt on the side of the Knemeyers Eatery & Spirits building last week.

The building was erected in 1914 and has been a part of the Waterville downtown as a gathering place ever since.

McCowin met Lisa Davies, from the Waterville Downtown Association, in May at the Revitalize Washington Conference and she was asked to come to Waterville.

McCowin has been painting for 45 years and has received honors for her work such as the John Ford Clymer Award from the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame during the 2017 Auction for the Hides of Fame Show. She does sign work throughout the state which she refers to as “historical painting” to revitalize towns.

“Had a great day in Waterville working for their barn quilt group,” McCowin said Oct. 17 on her Facebook page. “Many thanks to Lisa Davies, Monica Miller, Diane Peterson, Candy Jones, Dolores Gonzales, Carol Hansen and many more!”

In spite of the 40-mile-per-hour winds and occasional raindrops, McCowin was able to paint while on the scaffolding and complete the freehand work in only two days. She will return next summer to paint the historical Knemeyers sign on the other half of the side of the building.
From the Empire Press
Your Visit:
Didn't realize until later that this was a barn quilt. Thought it was just a cute and well done doodle by an itinerant artist. Only later, when reading about the barn quilts in the town did I realize that I had probably seen several of them.

Type of Barn: Barn still in use
Visit Instructions:
Please include one picture of the barn with the quilt.
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