The Museum of East Alabama dedicated its newest murals on May 12. The mural on the side of the museum was created by painter Chris Johnson and depicts the Creek Indian Chief Yoholo Micco, who was a chief in the Eufaula area; an Opelika buggy from the 1920s; the Clement Hotel; a flag for Auburn University; Old Nancy, a 1905 Case steam traction engine; Pepperell Mills, which manufactured fabrics; Booker T. Washington, who founded Tuskegee Institute in 1881; the Lee County Courthouse; a train to represent the importance of the railroad in the area; Governor James Samford; the Tuskegee Airmen; and baseball players from the Opelika Owls, a minor league team from Opelika. The newer mural, loacted on the other side of the museum, was done by Auburn University and depicts the agricultural history of the area. Located in the heart of downtown Opelika, on the old Clement hotel site, the Museum of East Alabama links the area’s past and future. First opening its doors in 1989, the museum houses over 5,000 artifacts including both 19th, and 20th, century local, state and general history items.
