Palmetto Sawtooth Star, N. Catherine & Main Street

#229 Saw Tooth

Quilter Eulah Grant Phillips (1885 - 1940)

Sponsor Walhalla City Council

This unique quilt features a very old and frequently used pattern called the “Sawtooth Star.” Very graphic and clean in design and execution, it uses of a very distinct printed fabric featuring a plant resembling the palmetto, South Carolina’s State Tree. This pattern, offset by the gold triangles creating the “sawtooth,” suggests that it was both an artistic and a utilitarian creation by Eulah Grant Phillips, a Walhalla native, born here in 1895. She taught first grade at the Walhalla Graded School in the early decades of the Twentieth Century. Mrs. Phillips was recognized as a creative and engaging teacher as well as a prolific quilter who practiced her craft until her death in 1940.

This project was commissioned by the Walhalla City Council in 2017 in conjunction with Walhalla Partners for Progress and the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail to honor the founding families of Walhalla. The story of each quilt is placed on the back side of each quilt providing an opportunity to learn about the founding families while strolling along Main Street. Complete story can be found on our website, search for quilt #229.