CARIBOU, Maine — The Caribou Public Library and the Aroostook County Genealogical Society invite the public to help solve a puzzle.
The Caribou Historical Center has a quilt in its possession that apparently dates from the late 19th century and is made of blocks containing handwritten names. The center has loaned the “Mystery Quilt” to the library, where it is on display for viewing in the Archival/ACGS research area.
Caribou Public Library Director Anastasia Weigle has announced a collaborative open house at the library on Saturday, March 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for both the Aroostook County Genealogical Society (ACGS) and the Caribou Public Library Archives and Special Collections. Those attending may view the quilt and see if they can identify any of the 247 names contained in it.
“Could your ancestor be there, too? Once again we are requesting public input,” Weigle said. “This is not just Caribou people; Woodland, New Sweden, Ft. Fairfield, Washburn, Presque Isle/Maysville and Houlton are some of the towns represented. But there are still unanswered questions.”
The story of the Mystery Quilt was first published on Nov. 21, 2001 in the Aroostook Republican. The quilt was found in the bottom of an old tool box in Wisconsin. How it got to Wisconsin from Caribou is truly a mystery.
Its age has been dated in the late 1800s, although that is subject to change. In 2001, Brenda Bourgoine started researching the names on the quilt to try and identify who made it, why it was made, when it was made, and perhaps how it traveled to Wisconsin from Caribou.
That research was set aside for some years, then Wendy Bossie of the Caribou Historical Society picked up the research where Bourgoine left off. Bossie found her grandmother’s name among the names written on the quilt in ink.
Familiar Caribou names handwritten on “The Mystery Quilt” are Helen Wright, Ann Teague, C. B. Varnum, G. W. Washburn, Mrs. L. K. Fisher, Mary Sodergren, Allie Pattee, A. F. Gammon, Jonnie Farrell and N. O. Stromberg, as well as many other names known to be part of Caribou’s history.
The library is the repository and permanent home for the ACGS since 2013. The society’s genealogical research collections are housed alongside the library’s research collections.
