Exhibit Opening and Talk: Uncovering the History Behind Ziller's Quilt

Kept in museum storage since 1989, this beautiful quilt held the key to unravelling the forgotten story of Ziller Smith, a Black woman who moved to Oregon around 1900. Until the quilt's rediscovery in 2024, Ziller’s life had been omitted from the historical record.

Join us on September 18th at 5:30 PM at the North Lincoln County Historical Museum for a talk by Executive Director Christopher Melton. He will share the steps he took to trace the history of the quilt, uncover evidence of its maker, and imagine what Ziller’s life might have been like in early 20th-century Oregon.

The quilt will be on view in the Anne Hall Gallery on the museum’s second floor from September 18th 2025, through March 2026. This exhibit will interpret details in the quilt, outline what we've been able to prove about Ziller's journey from Missouri to Lostine, OR. The exhibit will provide concrete evidence of her life, while also exploring the question: What can we learn from an artifact when documentation is impossible to find?

This project was made possible with the support of Oregon Black Pioneers, and an earlier iteration of this presentation was a part of Black History Quest.

Doors open at 5PM, talk begins at 5:30PM.

https://northlincolncountyhistoricalmuseum.org/zillers-quilt/