Waukomis Pioneer Memorial Mural - Waukomis, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 36° 16.791 W 097° 53.917
14S E 598914 N 4015551
This mural is the beginning of a complete town memorial currently being worked on and expected to be completed in September, 2019.
Waymark Code: WMYJ9D
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 06/19/2018
Views: 6
On the southeast corner of Main Street and Euclid Avenue, a project is underway to highlight the history of Waukomis and pay honor to those who settled this land in those early days. The memorial will include the mural, a Land Run era windmill, a sculpture of an early settler, and eventually will also include interactive audio plaques.
This mural was painted by the students of Bob Palmer, who taught art at the University of Central Oklahoma until his recent retirement. His murals are found all over the state, and Waukomis is honored to have two of them. This mural is not painted on the side of a building, but on a free standing concrete wall built for this purpose.
The mural portrays seven facets of the history of the town. The fact that the Chisholm Trail ran through this area in the late 1800's is depicted by a cattle drover herding several cattle. The Land Run of 1893 which opened this land up for settlement is portrayed by a horse and wagon, with its driver racing to make his claim. A painting of the town's first school and church are also prominently displayed. At the center, coming right at you is a steam locomotive acknowledging the place the railroad had in early development of the town. In the background next to the tracks, you can see the grain elevators. The early pioneers are depicted by a farmer, with his plow, walking behind two horses. A rearing horse and rider represents Cecil Cornish, a well know trick rider of past Western shows. We had to do a little research to understand the significance of a very tall man standing at the left of the mural dressed in formal clothes. It turns out that is a Waukomis citizen who in 1900 was considered to be the tallest man in the world, standing at 8 ft. 2 inches. He is painted life-sized so the viewer will get a feeling for the size of this man.
