Visitors to the Fountain Inn Chamber of Commerce and Fountain Inn Museum at 102 Depot Street are now greeted by the latest addition to the lobby that chronicles community history. A new quilt was officially hung in early November, completing the display.

Two quilts, created by former Fountain Inn area resident, Suzanne DiCarlo, carry themes important to the town’s growth. The first commemorates the arrival of the railroad in 1886, the same year the town charter was signed. Denoted in the second quilt is the heavily travelled stagecoach route of the early 1800s which routinely made an overnight stop in the Upstate. The inn which offered hospitality for travelers was close to a reliable spring simply known as “the fountain.” Thus, Fountain Inn was born. 

Deborah Fenton crafted the latest addition to the lobby display, titled The Cotton Boll Quilt. Her creation recalls the once ubiquitous cotton fields that gave birth to the textile industry, backbone of South Carolina’s 19th and 20th century economy. Fountain Inn’s Woodside Mill became one of the largest fabricators of cloth in the south.

A Purdue graduate with a master’s degree in textile chemistry, Fenton moved to Greenville where she worked in various textile positions throughout her career. Today she is a member of the Nimble Thimbles Guild and also instructs young quilt-makers at Marietta’s Quilt and Sew. 

A volunteer for the Museum’s 2022 quilt exhibit, Fenton observed that another hanging would complete the lobby display. After coordinating with Peggy Nickson, then president of the museum, she embarked on the needlework project that would take an entire year to complete. “Creating and constructing the Cotton Boll Quilt to be shown in the Fountain Inn Museum was a joy and honor,” Fenton said. Thanks to her efforts, visitors to the museum and chamber are now treated to a unique history lesson just by walking through the door. 

The Fountain Inn Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM, and on Saturday from 10 AM till 2 PM. There is no admission charge. ●