The community will have the opportunity to view a few of the treasures from the Bluegrass Heritage Museum beginning next week.

On April 15, the museum will open “A Patchwork of Clark County History,” an exhibit featuring 14 quilts from 1820 to the 1920s. The exhibit will be at 21 Valentine Court, which is directly behind the museum on Main Street.

Museum director Sandy Stults said the quilts have all been in the museum’s possession for a while, and many have never been displayed.

“We have 14 quilts,” she said. “A couple have been on exhibit but not in a while. They all have some connection to Clark County.”

Within the museum itself, there was never room to display the quilts. When the museum was given the house and former nurses’ residence last year, it opened a whole new space for displays and exhibits, Stults said.

“It gives us an opportunity to showcase these historical quilts that have been in storage for years,” she said.

One of the newer quilts was made by the Clark County Hospital auxiliary in the 1920s or 1930s, she said. For $1, donors could have their names sewn into the quilt itself. When the quilt was raffled off, the buyer donated it right back to the auxiliary and it was auctioned again to raise even more money for the group, she said.

Many of the quilts were made in Clark County but left when the families moved away. They all found their way back.

“Future generations decided (the quilts) needed to be back home,” she said.

The kickoff event will be April 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. Following that, the exhibit will be open for public viewing on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. through May 31. It can also be open other times by appointment. The exhibit is free.

The display will also be a fundraiser as the museum seeks to raise $200,000 during 2019 to match a grant. So far, the museum has raised about $36,000, Stults said.

“We hope when people come to the exhibit, maybe they’ll make a donation,” she said.