New grave marker to honor preeminent Athens quilter and former slave

Harriet Powers died more than a century ago, but this Athens woman who was a former slave is remembered today as one of the most important figures in the culture of quilt making.

A quilt that Powers sold to an Athens art teacher in the 1890s for $5 is today considered priceless. The "Bible Quilt" is now owned and exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Another quilt, "The Pictorial Quilt," made in 1898, is owned by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Mass.

Those two quilts are the only ones made by Harriet Powers that are known to exist. Last year, for the first time, they were exhibited together in Boston.

The memory of this legendary quiltmaker and artist will rise again Saturday through several voices when a committal ceremony will be held at Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery on Fourth Street in Athens. The memorial begins at 11 a.m. and numerous visitors from out of state are expected.

Those attending will view a massive new black granite headstone, which was recently installed at her gravesite.

“She is really a big deal in the American quilting world,” said Arlington, Va., resident Kyra Hicks, author of “This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers Bible Quilts and Other Pieces.”

“I bet you cannot find a single book on American quilting history that does not mention Harriet Powers. That’s how important she is to American quilting, crafts and African-American art,” said Hicks, who is organizing the special service.

The acquisition of a new headstone for the grave was spearheaded by the Women of Color Quilters Network and its founder Carolyn L. Mazloomi from West Chester, Ohio. Mazloomi is expected to attend.

For decades, the site of Powers’ grave was unknown in the forested landscape with approximately 3,500 graves, where many are unmarked. In 2005, University of Georgia graduate student Cat Holmes found the burial spot.

A Banner-Herald story that reported the news of the discovery “just binged across the United States,” Hicks said.

The original grave marker, only about 2 feet tall, had toppled and was covered with vegetation. It was etched with the names of Powers and her husband, Armstead Powers.

Fred Smith, a member of the Athens branch of the Association for the Study of African Life and History, said the marker was broken in half and has since been moved to a secure location out of concern that it might be moved during one of the cleanups that occurs at the cemetery.

Smith is glad the ceremony will bring people into Gospel Pilgrim.

“Hopefully, this might bring attention to it because I’ve gotten calls from people interested in making sure this gravesite is cared for through the years,” said Smith, who is aware of Powers' history in Athens.

“I am a member of New Grove Baptist Church in Winterville and her family attended that church. We have a replica of one of her quilts,” he said.

Hicks has visited Athens on a couple of occasions, once to research the acquisition of the “Bible Quilt,’ by Jennie Smith, an art teacher at the Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens. Smith had purchased the quilt from Powers for $5, a few years after its creation in 1886.

The Jennie Smith papers are in archive at UGA’s Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

“There was a condition they couldn’t be opened until 50 years after she died. That 50 years happened as I was researching the book. I read all of her papers,” Hicks said.

The quilt was kept by the executor of Smith’s will, then about 20 years later it was donated to the Smithsonian, according to Hicks.

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A remarkable find in regards to Powers’ legacy occurred in Keokuk, Iowa, where a letter that Powers wrote to a woman there surfaced in recent years. In the letter Powers describes five quilts she made including the "Bible Quilt."

The letter was an amazing discovery. Hicks said when she learned of the letter and received photo copies that “within two days I was in Keokuk.”

“They were absolutely wonderful when I arrived,” she said about those at the city's public library and their cooperation to share their information.

Among those planning to attend Saturday's ceremony are two of Powers’ great-great-granddaughters.

“Here is a woman who was formerly enslaved and people, over 100 years after she has passed, are coming to Athens to honor her," said the woman, who looked into the life of a quilter who patched stories into cloth.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Honoring a legacy: New monument to honor Harriet Powers of Athens