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The Panguitch Quilt Walk History
In 1864 a group of hardy pioneers braved the mountain snows to save their families from starvation. This group of men encountered snows that were impassable. According to their faith they knelt on a quilt in a prayer circle.
The answer to their prayer was to walk on the quilts. Thus we honor seven men as the Panguitch Quilt Walkers. They are Jessie Louder, Alexander Matheson, William Talbot, Thomas Jefferson Adair, Thomas Morgan Richards, John Lowe Butler II, and John Paul Smith.
Artist: Stanley Q. Johnson 
Located at 70 East Center Street in Panguitch, Utah
Related:
Thomas Jefferson Adair, Jr.
Thomas was born in Pickins, Alabama in 1814. After converting to the LDS faith, he and his wife Frances Rogers moved their young family to Nauvoo, Illinois. Following the mass expulsion from Illinois, Thomas and his family fled to Ohio where Frances and two of their four children died. Before coming to Utah, Thomas married Mary Vancil. They joined a group of settlers going to Panguitch in 1864. Thomas was one of the seven men who risked his life to save the settlement of Panguitch; he was age 50 at the time. He was also instrumental in settling the areas of Paria in southern Utah and Adairville and Showlow in Arizona.
John Lowe Butler, II
John was born in Nauvoo, Illinois and was only eight years old when he crossed the plains with his family. When his father died, John was left to help his widowed mother provide for his eleven brothers and sister. Although only twenty years of age, it was important to John to be part of the journey to Parowan – his family needed food to survive the rest of the winter. In later years, John took part in the Black Hawk Indian War; he also led the San Juan Expedition of the Colorado River.
Jesse Louder
Alexander Matheson
Thomas Morgan Richards
John Paul Smith
William Talbot
William was born in Hampshire, England. As a young man he became a carter, one who contracts to haul goods in a wagon. He joined the LDS Church in 1850, and married Charlotte Newman the next year. They set sail for America with their two small boys but their youngest son died soon after they arrived. William answered the call to settle Parowan, and later to settle Panguitch. Besides working his farm William was also a wagon maker. He, along with six other men, showed courage and faith as they went to Parowan in the winter snow for food. Eventually they abandoned the oxen pulled wagon and struggled with every footstep until they were inspired to walk on quilts. He was 39 years old when he made the trek to Parowan, he and his descendants returned to Panguitch after the second settlement.
