Phase one of mural project due for completion in spring

Published 12:00 am Friday, July 23, 2004

[07/23/04] With four murals expected to be finished by the spring of next year, the first phase of the project that has transformed the city’s floodwall will be completed.

“In April of 2002, we had the very first unveiling of the first mural. Here we are two years later, and we have 10,” said Nellie Caldwell, who has led the effort to have the murals and now serves as the mural committee chairman. “It’s going faster than we thought, but it is so exciting.”

Murals expected to be completed by the summer of 2005 will depict the Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg’s early days of settlement by Indians, the Civil War and the sinking of the Sultana.

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At a committee meeting Thursday, Caldwell stressed the need for funds for the Sultana, Indians and Civil War murals.

“If anybody has any extra money, push it that way,” she said, noting that the City of Vicksburg is funding the park mural through grants.

Caldwell said the committee wants to finish the next four murals by 2005 so work can begin on the second phase of the wall, which includes 21 panels.

Ideas for the second phase of panels include the Flood of 1927, the tornado of 1953, the Miss Mississippi Pageant and the Civil Rights movement.

All of the murals have been painted by Robert Dafford of Paducah, Ky., and his team of artists.

The cost to sponsor a mural on the first phase is $15,000, but a second phase mural will be $16,500.

Caldwell said the increase is due to inflation.

The most recent murals were completed in May and June and show Confederate President Jefferson Davis receiving news at his Warren County home of his 1861 election, trains being ferried across the Mississippi River and Vicksburg’s influential African- Americans.

“The community has taken hold of this,” Caldwell said. “They’ve provided hotel rooms, paint and food.

“And it is very appreciated.”

THE PROJECT

Suggested ideas for the second phase, which includes 21 panels, are:

Ethnic groups, including those of Chinese, Lebanese and Irish descent

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Jazz and Catfish Row

The Flood of 1927

The Sprague

Gold in the Hills

The tornado of 1953

The civil rights movement

Modern events including the Run Thru History, the Over the River Run and Riverfest

Koestler’s Bakery at Christmas

The Brothers’ Boys

The Methodist Church

Logging on the river

The two Mississippi River bridges

The Delta, Mississippi and American Queens

The cotton industry

The Miss Mississippi Pageant

Carr Central High School