The Marie Webster House, also known as George Webster Jr. and Marie Daugherty House, is a historic house at 926 South Washington Street in Marion, Indiana. Built in 1905, it was the home of quilter Marie Webster (1859–1956) from 1909 until 1942, and is now home to the Quilters Hall of Fame. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993, honoring Webster's role in promoting and broadening interest and knowledge of the craft. and
The Quilters Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to the world of quilting. Founded in 1979 by Hazel McDowell Carter, the Hall features a museum with exhibits of quilts and quilt-makers.
Description and history The Marie Webster House stands south of the Marion town center, on the west side of South Washington Street between 9th and 10th Streets. It is a -story wood-frame structure with Colonial Revival styling that is not architecturally distinguished. The building's interior has retained features and finishes original to the period of the Webster's ownership, despite its initial conversion to apartments and its present use as a museum. Marie Webster displayed quilts and patterns to customers in the second-floor sitting room.
Marie Webster did not begin making quilts until 1909, when she was fifty years old. In her childhood she had learned, sewing, embroidery, and needlework, but she did not become an aficionado of quilting until later in her life. Her critical contribution to the craft was in bringing the craft to a broad national audience, when it had previously been a largely regional practice. Her 1915 publication Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them was a seminal work in this respect, and remains an influence on the field to this day. She introduced the practice of selling quilting patterns, kits with precut fabrics, as well as partially and completely finished quilts. She ran her business, the Practical Patchwork Company, out of this house, until her retirement in 1942.
The house was purchased by neighbors, who converted it to apartments. After standing vacant for several years, it was condemned by the city in 1990. It was rescued from demolition by Webster's granddaughter, who purchased it and gave it as site for the Quilter's Hall of Fame.
Quilters Hall of Fame honorees Honoree Name Year Inducted Lenice Ingram Bacon 1979 William R. Dunton Ruth Ebright Finley Jonathan Holstein Gail Van Der Hoof Marguerite Ickis Averil Colby 1980 Anne Orr Florence Peto Grace Snyder Bertha Stenge Jean Ray Laury 1982 Bonnie Leman Cuesta Benberry 1983 Mary Alice Barton 1984 Jinny Beyer Carrie Hall 1985 Rose G. Kretsinger Patsy Orlofksy 1987 Jeffrey Gutcheon 1990 Carter Houck Donna Wilder Marie D. Webster 1991 Amy Emms, MBE 1992 Michael James 1993 Sally Garoutte 1994 Karey Bresenhan 1995 Joyce Gross 1996 Nancy Crow 1997 Yvonne Porcella 1998 Shiela Betterton 1999 Barbara Brackman 2001Ruby Short McKim 2002 Georgia Bonesteel 2003 Bets Ramsey 2005 Virginia Avery 2006 Mary Vida Schafer 2007 Helen Kelley 2008 Merikay Waldvogel 2009 Jean Wells 2010 Ardis & Robert James 2011 Eleanor Burns 2012 Meredith Schroeder 2013 Ruth B. McDowell 2014 Mimi Dietrich 2015 Carolyn L. Mazloomi 2016 Virginia Gunn 2017 Xenia Cord 2018 Fons & Porter, Mary McElwain 2019 Marti Michelle, Mary Gasperik 2021 Diane Gaudynski, Florence LaGanke Harris 2022 Elly Sienkiewicz 2023
See also List of museums in Indiana List of National Historic Landmarks in Indiana National Register of Historic Places listings in Grant County, Indiana
References
External links
Hall of Fame website