A World War II-era mural found in an old agricultural building in Neosho has been removed and is ready for preservation – when enough money is raised.
The building in which the mural was found was originally part of Camp Crowder, a former Army base. At one time, the base housed more than 45,000 soldiers. Part of the base is now Crowder College.
When Camp Crowder closed, buildings were auctioned off as surplus. In fact one, which was recently torn down, served as the home of the Missouri State University Art Annex. Others were scattered across the region.
"And one of those buildings was purchased by a family outside of Neosho, and they moved the structure to their small family farm," said Sarah Serio, president of the Neosho Arts Council. "Inside that structure was a mural, and it has remained there since the days of Camp Crowder."
The mural depicts everyday life at Camp Crowder, and Serio said it tells a unique story from the soldier artist's perspective. They haven't been able to determine who that artist was or why he left the mural unfinished.
""You can see the grid that the artist laid down on the wall to transfer his design from paper to the wall," she said. "You can see where he sketched out and has started the design. He's got a plan in place, and he's even started painting."
Over the weekend, the Neosho Arts Council worked with a local contractor with experience in historic restoration to remove each of eight panels of wall board the 24-foot long and six-feet-tall mural is on.
"The restoration team, they cut over 250 nails on the backside of the mural to release it panel by panel," Serio said. "And it was carefully lowered off of the stud walls, and it's been crated right now as we work to raise the rest of the funds of restoration and preservation."
The Neosho Arts Council needs to raise $25,000 to be able to move forward with that restoration and preservation, which will include a professional cleaning and preservation treatments. Eventually they'll find a place in Neosho to put it on public display.
Donations can be mailed to:
Neosho Arts Council
P.O. Box 605
Neosho, MO 64850.
You can also donate here.
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