A new mural in Arlington’s Depot Square created by hometown artists Mark and Megan Davey is already making a positive impact.

On Tuesday, June 20, the Daveys added the final tiny details to the 20-foot-by-70-foot mural they began painting in mid-May on the side of The Cannery Building at 6280 Chester St.

“We’ve had a lot of fun with this project,” Megan Davey said. “We’ve gotten a ton of visitors stopping by to tell us about their memories, and that’s been great. Lots of long-time residents have given us tips, and we’ve been able to put some of them into the mural.”

New Arlington mural showcases town history

There was a horseshoe added under what was known as a “hitching tree” for horses and a mail bag hanging out over the train tracks for a train to easily pick up without stopping.

The mural features landmarks from Arlington’s history and from the Depot Square with the train station, the old water tower along the train track, as well as Arlington United Methodist Church built on Quintard Street in the late 1800s. The Highway 70 sign is represented because that route helped put Arlington on the map.

The artwork, which also includes the old cotton gin and a 1949 town fire truck that was recently refurbished, faces the walking path from Depot Square to The Crossing Amphitheater and Forrest Street Park.

“I’m so glad they chose the gin, the water tower and the depot. I grew up knowing all of those things,” said Ruby Hannah, a nearby resident. Born in 1941, she remembers riding the cotton wagon with her dad to the gin during the mid-1940s. Her husband was also a volunteer firefighter in the 1950s and rode on the now-refurbished fire truck.

She thinks the fire truck is the most impressive part of the mural.

“It looks like it could just roll off the wall,” Hannah said. ‘The artists have just done a super great job depicting some of the old things we have in Arlington.”

The mural represents a partnership between the Town of Arlington and the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, with Town Administrator Cathy Durant and Tonia Howell, chamber director, working with the Daveys to develop the mural design.

The Cannery Building is owned by custom homebuilder Bruce Upchurch and is the site of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s new office space.

“Every day while the mural was being painted, people stopped by to take photos with some sharing stories of growing up in Arlington and playing near the cotton gin and the train depot,” Howell said. “So it has already started to accomplish its purpose of bringing people to the square, creating a place maker and reinforcing Arlington’s rich history and small-town charm.”

She describes the project as a gift to Arlington and says residents have appreciated the town taking it on.

“It’s exciting to see how well the mural turned out,” Arlington Alderman Jeremy Biggs said. “The artists involved did a great job of capturing the history of Arlington. It’s another feather in the cap for our Depot Square.

The work is part of a growing trend of artwork appearing on buildings across the region, including a new mural created at Bartlett United Methodist Church last fall.

The Daveys, who have done murals for the past 35 years as part of their Davey Studios business, will work on a second smaller mural in the Depot Square area later this year or early next year. That design, still being determined, will be painted on the side of a building that houses Shelly’s Barber Shop and Depot Square Nutrition facing the railroad tracks.