Lakeport >> The 4-by-4-foot quilt block “Watson’s Walnut Tree” is on a nearly 100-year-old barn at Grey Heron Farm owned by Debra Watson. It is one block of dozens part of the Lake County Quilt Trail (LCQT).
Watson’s Walnut Tree is on the right side of Highland Springs Road in Lakeport going south from Highway 29 before Mathews Road.
The Covey family began homesteading several hundred acres in the Big Valley area in the late 1800s, including Grey Heron Farm, growing pears and walnuts. Although the pears are now gone, the farm’s walnut trees are now about 80 years old and produce an organic crop every fall.
The barn was constructed in the 1920s by Ernest Covey and his brother, just prior to the arrival of Agnes Covey, his mail-order bride from Minnesota.
This barn housed teams of draft horses and winter hay in the loft. The brothers worked them on their property and then other local farms to supplement their income. During World War II, their horse teams were also used on local county road construction projects because gas rationing made that financially viable.
In 2007, contractor/owner Mark Watson, who died in 2013, shored up the interior posts and footings to insure that the barn would continue to serve the farm for many years. Watson loved working in the walnut orchard, bringing the trees back to health and vigor.
Owner Debra Watson chose Watson’s Walnut Tree quilt block to commemorate her late husband. The design incorporates the traditional quilt block design called tree of life.
The LCQT is an agricultural and tourism project designed to promote community pride.
The quilt block was drawn and painted by the Lake County Quilt Trail team, consisting of a group of dedicated volunteer quilters, graphic artists, painters, writers, carpenters and a videographer.
For more information about the LCQT visit lakecountyquilttrail.com or go to Facebook.
