Jonesborough, Tennessee’s oldest community, is one of the first towns in Tennessee to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The county was the first district to be named in honor of George Washington. The town published the first periodical about abolishing slavery. It is also the first and only home of the National Storytelling Festival. Stories make up the fabric of Jonesborough and stories are a living oral tradition. Each year in the fall they hold a National Storytelling Festival and it is the biggest event in the town bringing in thousands of people.
When you first enter town you see this lovely sign.
In the middle of town sits this wonderful old court house.
Here are some of the houses on main street. There were some amazing old homes with very inviting porches. My first thought….southern hospitality at it’s finest. You could tell the people in the town take pride in their properties because they were nicely manicured.
This is the front of the B&B where all the teachers stayed during our visit to Jonesborough. The rooms inside were fabulous.
During the summer several blocks downtown are closed on Friday evening and local bands come to play. As you can see, they are well attended.
This is the Christopher Taylor House which was built in 1777. Andrew Jackson lived here from 1788-89 while practicing law in Jonesborough.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
“Ties That Bind” by Marie Bostwick. This book is about Margot Matthews who lives in New Bern, Connecticut, a nice little town that has a quilt shop, Cobbled Court Quilt Shop, where Margot works. Margot is turning 40 and is still unmarried. Friends are trying to be match-makers, but Margot has all but given up on finding the right man. Philippa, the new pastor in town, and Margot become friends. Philippa faces challenges because her father is a pastor and people know his good reputation. There is a terrible tragedy in Margot’s family and her life takes a major turn. Being a quilter and reading books that include quilters, quilt shops, quilting classes, etc., makes for a good read.
In my next blog I’ll share some photos from Quilt Odyssey in Hershey, PA. On my return from Tennessee I was able to get to the show just long enough to take a walk through the quilts.