Murals as Community Mirrors
Look for beautiful murals in Richmond Hill! Progressive cities and towns, like ours, commission public art to communicate heritage, pay tribute to our heroes and notable milestones.
Check out the locations and motivation in this collection of diverse public murals. We’ve highlighted a few to share with you how important public art is to the residents of Richmond Hill. As you're snapping pics on your self-guided mural tour, share your photos with #richmondhillmuraltrail for a chance to be featured!
Here are a few highlights of 11 murals you can visit around town. When you come back you might see a new mural as more will come in time.
Greetings from Richmond Hill – 10010 Ford Ave.
Like many towns, a greeting card mural artfully displays what is most valued in the town’s history and present experiences. Look online for a key to what each letter represents. For example:
- Do you recognize Dr. George Washington Carver in the “O”?
Dr. Carver was a prominent Black scientist of the early 20th century. He educated Southern farmers and the formerly enslaved on how to shift from fields exhausted by the monoculture of cotton to more sustainable crops like peanuts and sweet potatoes.
- How about the State Tree of Georgia painted in the second “L”:
This is the Southern Live Oak (Quercus Virginiana) draped in Spanish moss which is neither from Spain nor a moss! It’s a flowering herb that drapes itself over oak trees and sometimes telephone pole wires and fences because it has no roots. It derives its nutrients from rainfall, bird and lizard detritus and airborne particles.
Henry Ford’s Southern Town – 11460 Ford Avenue (inside Richmond Hill History Museum)
This painted mural shows the growing community of Richmond Hill on one side of the Ogeechee River where Henry Ford of Dearborn, Michigan began purchasing tracts of land in 1925 – ultimately building on both sides of the river. The area, known then as Ways Station and renamed Richmond Hill in 1941, was impoverished until Ford and partners inspired agricultural pursuits, built housing and medical facilities, churches, and schools. This is the town that Ford built.
Richmond Hill History Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 4 pm. Admission: $4 to $15 (kids 5 and under free).
Miss Kilkenny Shrimp Boat at Marker 107 Restaurant
Stop for a refreshing break at Marker 107 for off-the-dock seafood featured in the restaurant’s Southern menu. On a wall of this restaurant overlooking the bluff along Kilkenny River is an illuminated shrimp boat painting – a little secret of a mural honoring the heritage of coastal fishing and pioneering colonial families. The name Kilkenny (pronounced kill-cainey) honors a former family estate in Bryan County listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Head to the hill – Richmond Hill – for breathtaking sights, treks in nature, local shopping, and fantastic food and drink. Check the Visit Richmond Hill calendar and cultural itineraries to uncover more Southern charms, festivals, and special events.