Monday, April 23, 2012

Dothan Murals

 Colorfully and boldly painted on buildings throughout the Dothan Alabama downtown area are twenty murals depicting the history of the Wiregrass area.  Below are three of them that I photographed in May of 2011.
 

Dothan Riot 

In October of 1889, just after Dothan was incorporated, a riot erupted at the public well and bell-tower over a tax levied on commercial drays traveling city streets.   
DeSoto's Journey Throughout the Wiregrass RegionThis mural commemorates the journey of Hernando DeSoto and his exploration party as they traveled from the Gulf of Mexico, north through Georgia touching on the edge of the Wiregrass Region east of the Chattahoochee River.
Chief Eufaula -- Creek Indian Removal

This mural depicts Chief Eufaula as he looked in 1836, as he spoke his farewell words to the Alabama Legislature, before leading the last of the lower Creeks to the reservation of Oklahoma.  

Chief Eufaula's words were:  "In these lands of Alabama, which have belonged to my forefathers and and where their bones lie buried, I see that the Indian fires are going out.  Soon they will be cold.  New fires are lighting in the West for us they say and we will go there.

I do not have photos of all twenty murals but I do have half of them.  I will post them a few at a time over the next weeks as time permits. So check back each Monday.

Linking to Monday Murals hosted by Oakland Daily Photo

Also linking to Color Carnival hosted by Maria







12 comments:

  1. How many times I've traveled through Dothan ... and never paused to notice. Thanks for stopping to share these memories!

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  2. I just love it when towns have murals like this on the sides of their buildings - - - especially when they tell the story of the town/area.

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  3. Frank and Rita, it's always nice to have these murals that remind us of the past. You guys have a great collection.

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  4. So glad you found these and captured them in photographs! What a wonderful thing for a town to do! I have enjoyed looking for murals when we traveled. These are great - I was especially moved by that last one!

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  5. I think we stayed at a State Park named for Chief Eufaula last summer on our way back to Oregon. It is such a sad chapter of our history to be reminded of what happened (not just in Alabama of course -- we had Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce in Idaho where we grew up, same sad story)..but we need to remember!

    The murals are wonderful -- that first one (and how interesting that bit of history is) just about jumps off the wall!

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    1. Sallie, Eufaula Alabama is named for this Indian chief and back in the early sixties they damned up a large area to create Lake Eufaula. I my memory serves correctly the state park is located somewhere in that area.

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  6. Lovely photos. Love seeing murals. We don't have any in my neck.

    Love that your town does this.

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  7. Welcome to Monday Mural. History themed murals are among my favorites. They help us all remember our personal and collective past. Your choices this week provide us snapshots of a wide range of your local history. The last mural is very emotional for me, especially since we know how it turned out. Love the sound of the Wiregrass Region and mean to go sometime. In the meantime, thanks for sharing with us and participating in this week's meme.

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    1. Sorry, I should have worded my post differently. I gave the impression that this is my hometown. Dothan, is the home of my Mother's sister, and I have been visiting Dothan, Alabama almost yearly for the last thirty years. I made a point of photographing as many of these murals as I could find during a visit last May. I was just there last week but it was a quick trip to attend a family funeral. So I did not have time to hunt out the ones I am missing. I will certain correct do my best to complete the collection on my next visit.

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  8. A wonderful way to make sure that history stays alive!

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  9. i'd love to walk thru a downtown filled with murals.

    http://ewok1993.wordpress.com

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  10. Liked these murals. Loved the beard side bar!

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