The fourth barn quilt in Lincoln County was hung in late fall of 2016 on the Buck farm located at W3897 Hwy. 64 east of Merrill. The farm was recognized as a Century Farm in 1991.
The Buck family joins the Koehler family whose farm is located west of Merrill on Hwy. 64 and 107, the Pope-Will family whose farm is located on Pope Road just north of Merrill and the Hanson family whose farm is on Hwy. 17 north of Gleason, in being part of the Lincoln County Barn Quilt Project.
The farm where the quilt is hung was established in 1874 by the Buck family and passed down to William Buck and later to Lloyd Buck, Sr. and his wife Ruth. In 1912, a fire destroyed the farm as well as 22 other farms. Disaster struck again in 1970 when a tornado destroyed a barn. After their father, Lloyd Buck, Sr., retired from dairy farming, sons Lloyd Jr. and David continued to operate the farm with their father raising beef cattle and hay and corn crops. Today, grandsons Matt and Paul Buck have joined their uncle and father in operating the family farm where they continue to raise beef cattle and cash crops.
Working with Natalie Watland, an artist from the Tomahawk area, the family designed a quilt pattern incorporating a buck deer in honor of Lloyd Buck, Sr. The hanging of the quilt was done by the RTL Electric of Merrill. Ruth Buck and her family takes great pride in their farm and hopes that it will always stay in the Buck family.
Through the cooperation of the University of Wisconsin-Extension Lincoln County, the Merrill Historical Society, Lincoln County Farm Bureau and with startup funding from the Merrill Area Community Foundation, the Lincoln County Barn Quilt project was initiated in 2013. Although any barn in the county may be eligible for participation in the project, the committee felt it was appropriate to begin with farms that have been honored as Century Farms by the Merrill Historical Society. Through this project, people will be able to view our historic agricultural icons in their new role as public art.
The Barn Quilt Committee is currently looking for additional farm families, both Century Farm families and others, who are interested in being a part of the project. For more information about the Lincoln County Barn Quilt project, visit http://lincoln.uwex.edu/p/lincoln-county-barn-quilt-project/ or contact Debbie Moellendorf at the Lincoln County UW-Extension office at 715-539-0177 or Bea Lebal or Pat Burg at the Merrill Historical Society at 715-536-5652.