If you read yesterday's post you no doubt know that I fell absolutely in love with the little town of Smithville in Central Texas. Another charming fact is the existence of two absolutely great murals. The one above is painted on an exterior wall of the police station/fire department. It is signed in the lower right corner by one Jo Watts and is dated 2012. Can you see the Dalmatian peeking out the door on the right?
A much older mural can be found in Smithville's current (and previous) post office. It was painted in 1940 by Minnie Teichmueller and is entitled "The Law - Texas Rangers." The lobby of this old post office, replete with beautiful woodwork, is only about eight feet deep (of course, I'm horrible at estimating distances so I could be way off!) and the mural takes up the complete wall. The Texas Rangers, the state's premier law enforcement agency, was created by Stephen F. Austin who is known as the Father of Texas in a call to arms written in 1823. Two closeups of the mural are below.
Tomorrow: Oak Hill Cemetery
To answer Jo's question on yesterday's post: Yes, Jo, Smithville has a library, although I don't believe I saw it. In doing a little bit of research after I visited, like other Smithville institutions I take it the library is quite unique. For an interesting three short paragraphs on the library, check out the link HERE and scroll to the end to "Smithville Library."
11 comments:
Great looking murals.
smithville's going to see a surge in their population thanks to you spreading the word how cool they are. :)
each time you post i know I would love this town.... glad you showed the closeup of the post office mural, one of the robbers resembles John Wayne.. LOL
These murals remind of of one close-by that I can never photograph because of cars parked in front of it. Since it is still early morning, I'm going to get dressed and drive over now to see if it can be snapped!
Two very nice murals. I especially like the one in the post office.
Kathy, I thought I was way ahead of you, looking up Smithville on Wiki yesterday, and ready to tell you about the library.
However, your three paragraphs were much more interesting than Wiki and the only thing that I can add is that if they don't have your book, they will request it for you!
So, are your bags packed yet?
Cheers,
Jo
These two murals are very nice. I love to watch murals being created and I'm always amazed at how the artists can paint something so huge and have it look just right.
Both murals have character. The one done in the 1940s is in really good shape for it's age! Maybe it has been touched up a few times.
Looks like a really cool place to visit. You can see the people take pride in their town.
Looks like an interesting town to visit- love the murals- very cool!
These are wonderful! I never saw the first, as we left there several years ago, but I lament that I never went into the library to see the second either. They are both delightful!
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