Update: More information on who painted these murals can be found on a new article. Please follow link below to learn whom painted the murals!
http://shenandoahnewz.com/politics/810-mystery-in-shenandoah-who-painted-these-murals
Check out these paintings that we found. They are hanging on the wall inside the Enchanting Floral & Gifts store on First Street in Shenandoah. You may be wondering who painted them. Well the story we were told was that a local resident painted them in exchange for meals. These paintings are not as old as other ones done in town, as evident by the partially torn down mill building that housed the Virginia Wire Manufacturing business.
One painting is looking south on First Street towards the old mill building before it was remodeled.
Another picture shows the trains sitting along the tracks at the Shenandoah train station. On the right side of this painting is a white fence and five trees. This represents the famous location at the intersection of Virginia Avenue and First Street. Many years ago that used to be a popular spot for some to sit under the shade trees and enjoy their adult beverages.
If you stop in Enchanting Floral & Gifts, the owner Brenda Haggett will be glad to tell you the rest of the story of how she obtained these paintings.
There have been a few other instances where visitors to our town have painted murals on walls. Some may recall the cabin and wood scenes that were painted on the wall in Boots Restaurant at the intersection of Virginia Avenue and First Street. This build burned down years ago.
The most famous murals that were done were ones done on the walls of the former Eagle Hotel in Shenandoah. These pictures are located in the book, Shenandoah A History of Our Town and Its People on page 28. Copies of these pictures can also be found in the Town Museum inside the Town Hall building.
The below text is written in the Book of Shenandoah about the Eagle Hotel murals.
A fascinating story has been passed throughout the generation. As it goes, an itinerant painter came to the Eagle for lodging. He apparently enjoyed the bar too much and was unable to pay his bill. Realizing the great talent available, Mr. Harris furnished him free whiskey, room and board until he could decorate the bedroom with a mural. The work, assumed to be between 1909 and 1912 from the clothing depicted, was amazing and is still in excellent condition today. The room, only twelve feet square in size, has the lower half of its walls painted to resemble wallpaper. It is brownish color with a vertical green design. A whitish strip, about three inches wide, with a horizontal twig design, separated the lower design from the mural above. The mural stretches to the ceiling. On each of the four walls is a different scene. There is a cockfight with a circle of men sitting and a gypsy lady reading, with her tent and Conestoga wagon in the background, on the door wall. The window wall pictures Uncle Sam on a flying eagle to the right and a farm cart drawn by two oxen on the left. Two side walls have full uninterrupted paintings. One depicts a race track with horses running topped by their jockeys, and grandstand full of people. The other shows an entire N & W train the last car packed up with upright figures. Painted on each car is the name of each stop the train made between Shenandoah and Radford. Standing on the rear platform behind a brass railing are figures of a well=dressed man and woman.
