LCRA, City of LG Award $8,300 to Quilt Museum

An $8,300 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and the City of La Grange will help the Texas Quilt Museum replace deteriorating signage throughout its 19th-century period garden on the square in downtown La Grange.

The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $6,700 in matching funds, will help purchase and install new bronze signs for the period garden known as Grandmother’s Flower Garden, which is named after a quilt pattern and is home to a number of plants that grew in the Fayette County area in the 19th century.

“The garden is an integral part of the museum and is one of only a handful of period gardens in Texas,” said Julie Maffei, manager at the Texas Quilt Museum. “There is a close connection between gardening and quilting, which can be seen in the design of the garden and the design in quilts.”

The garden is open to the public and is a popular site for group outdoor luncheons and quiet reflections, as well providing a scenic spot for family, wedding and birthday photographs. The garden also features a large hand-painted mural of quilts by artist Brent McCarthy of New Braunfels.

Since opening in 2011, the museum has attracted over 60,000 people from 58 countries around the world to La Grange. Maffei said the new signage will replace several aging signs that are deteriorating due to exposure to rain, sun, wind and storms. The signs that will be replaced include a welcome sign, a brief description of a typical 19th-century garden and its ties to quilting, and an explanation on how the sundial in the middle of the garden works.

“We’re thrilled and honored to receive this grant from LCRA because this is an important project and is good for the community,” Maffei said. “We only want to do this once and new signage will help improve the overall look of the garden, which is a gem to this community.”

The community grant is one of 28 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which provides economic development and community assistance grants to cities, counties, volunteer fire departments, regional development councils and other nonprofit organizations in LCRA’s wholesale electric and water service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. The City of La Grange is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and a partner in the grant program.

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted July 1-31. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.