Wellsville wall murals depict historic scenes

WELLSVILLE — If a picture truly is worth a thousand words, then the flood wall lining the north entrance to this Ohio River village speaks volumes.

For the past three summers, murals have been painted on the thick, concrete walls, each depicting a scene from local history. Gina Hampson, an artist from nearby Hanoverton, has been contracted to do the paintings. Organizers said it’s all part of a project aimed toward breathing life back into the fading town.

“Our mission in doing this is to try and revitalize our town,” said Candy Bangor, president of the Wellsville Revitalization Committee. “We’re like the last house on the left in the county, a town that’s been dying on the vine.”

Bangor’s sister, Connie Carmichael, also on the committee, said the flood wall was built in 1938 by the Army Corps of Engineers, two years after Wellsville was flooded by the Ohio River.

“For years it just sat there,” Mayor Joe Surace said of the 95-foot-long wall. “The thing is sturdy and solid, but it was just a plain, gray wall.”

For more, see Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com