Blackford's Beauty is a quilt block named for a ford or river crossing near Sharpsburg, Maryland, where after the bloody battle at Antietam on September 17, 1862, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia crossed the Potomac River to return to the safety of Confederate ground, not knowing that they outnumbered the Union Army there. Gail Sexton used the Blackford's Beauty Block in a quilt called Red Birds on Parade in 2012 and chose it for a quilt trail because of its interesting history. Sexton had quilted for 30 years after working as an artist in oils and acrylics, painting mainly landscapes in the early 70's, and she incorporated her artist background into both traditional and non-traditional quilts while teaching and doing truck shows around South Carolina and neighboring states. The original Pickens Museum facility, built in 1902, resembles a brick castle and is an example of Turn of the Century Gothic architecture with crenellated turrets, a copper-colored tin roof, and hand-rolled bricks with swirl patterns. Its barred windows reflect its original purpose as the old Pickens County Gaol, which served as a jail until 1975. In 1976, the 5,400 sq. ft. building became home to the Pickens County Museum of Art and History, and in 2006, a 10,000 sq. ft. architecturally compatible wing was added. There visitors can learn that Pickens County was once home to the lower towns of the Cherokee and that the name Pickens comes from General Andrew Pickens, a Revolutionary War hero.