Old houses always need work. Right now my husband is on our side porch replacing a ceiling falling apart in chunks of paint and masonite. But one thing in our colonial on Main Street that has remained in great shape is the mural in the library. The colorful images are still full of vibrancy and remain a beautiful tribute to the history of the area. Putting those images on the cover of my book was a natural.
The mural was painted in 1939 by Portland artist Roger Deering on commission from then-owner Evelyn Butler Ennis. The work takes up an entire wall of our room and depicts several scenes from early Farmington history. The section we used as the cover illustration centers around a rider in cocked hat and knee breeches, a wooden sign that reads “Ye Trail to Hallowell” in the foreground. This scene was designed to commemorate the beginning of a weekly mail run in 1793, a year before the town was incorporated. The red carriage in the background takes us ahead in time to 1808 when the first stage coach line to Hallowell was established. In the background is Mt. Blue, the silhouette that has forever been familiar to anyone living here.
I have a 1939 newspaper story from the Press Herald reporting on the new mural. The writer notes that “Critics have called it the finest mural in Franklin County.” It was probably just about the only mural in Franklin County, but nevertheless, it was a fine one. And it remains so today. If only our ceilings were in such good shape…
