Traffic on Main Street in Cokeville traveled a bit slower as travelers took time to admire Cokeville Town Hall’s makeover as artists transferred the brown brick wall into a colorful history lesson.

The lesson begins with a pair of Shoshoni natives on horseback, a mule deer, Rocky Mountain explorer Jedediah Smith and a pioneer family with a covered wagon all are depicted prior to the murals midway point, with Rocky Peak in the background.

A steam engine locomotive on a single rail is the midpoint. From there the town’s early buildings and businesses are displayed, with Minerva Teichert painting a Wyoming cowboy with Big Hill and a sunset in the background. A small flock of sheep and a lone Herford cow represent the agricultural start. Cokeville was knowns as the “sheep capital” of world in the 1910’s-1920’s.  The mural covers the 1920’s era.

More details and elements are displayed in the mural, but these are the main focuses of the lesson on the wall.

Tanner Stephenson, David Frias and MacKenzie Maness were the main artists that were in town May 14-20 . During the stenciling process there were three others assisting, the stenciling process took most of the first day and into day two. Color was being added to the main mural late into day two.

On Saturday May 16, the community was invited to come help “color” the mural. A spring snowstorm was predicted for Sunday evening and Monday, so the artists were trying to make more progress in the good weather. The storm did come, most of Monday was spent catching up on some sleep and staying warm.

Along with the main mural a “Welcome to Cokeville” mural was placed on another wall of the town hall. Frias was the main muralist and worked on it as Stephenson and Maness focused on the larger mural. Each letter in the word Cokeville displays more historical attributes of Cokeville.

The murals were made possible by a Semiquincentennial grant that was being offered by the state of Wyoming under the direction of the Wyoming Semiquincentennial Task Force. The Cokeville Beautification Committee applied for the grant after hearing that the town of Thayne had a mural that was funded by the same grant.

Upon completion Beautification Committee Chair Ashbee Thompson said, “We are thrilled to have the mural completed and are so impressed with the artists, Tanner and MacKenzie. They put a lot of work into learning Cokeville’s history to make sure the mural was accurate and reflective of our community. We hope residents and visitors enjoy the mural and appreciate the rich history it represents.”

Community members helped the artist with the mural, but more helped them feel welcome. Many stopped sharing their apperception, amazement at the work and some provided insights into the historical elements being featured. Some community members brought meals for the artists.

Though the local traffic is mostly back to normal the mural will be catching the eye of those traveling through for years to come.