Mary Barton

Mary Alice Barton (June 9, 1917 – December 7, 2003) was a nationally recognized American quilter, quilt historian, collector, and philanthropist. She was inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame as of September 29, 1984, for greatly contributing "through her collecting, researching and sharing of information." Her collection was eventually divided among a number of Iowa institutions, donated for use in research and teaching as well as exhibition.

Biography Mary Alice Pemble was born on June 9, 1917, one of six children of Harold H. Pemble and Edith Lisle Pemble of Indianola, Iowa. Her family lived in town, where they had a large garden, cattle, horses, and chickens. They later started an orchard outside of town. Mary's father helped run a hardware store, and her mother sold cheese and produce with the children's help. She attended Simpson College, and then completed a B.S. degree in landscape architecture at Iowa State University. There Thomas Barton became the head of the department of Landscape Architecture.

Collecting In 1949, Barton inherited several family quilts The fabrics "worn" by the women and children in the quilt are heirloom materials.

Philanthropy Mary Barton's activities as a collector and philanthropist were inspired in part by her concern that the crafts heritage of Iowa should be preserved in Iowa. As of 2009, many items from her collections were included in the Quilt Index.

Mary Barton left her extensive collection of fashion illustrations and related materials, organized by year from 1776–2008, to the Iowa State University Archives. Part of her collection was donated in 1988, the rest in 1995.