A new mural on a building in Columbus illustrates and preserves some of the history of life in the early 1900s.
It’s part of an effort to bring some vibrancy and excitement to the community.
Watch Columbus mural story here:
“The cattle and the cowboy moving them into town and the rush of the stagecoach and the riders on the stagecoach with the horses,” Riley Zumbrennen, who created the masterpiece across the street from the Columbus city hall.
She made a digital picture from an old photo, projected it onto the wall, sketched the scene, and then painted, finishing in 16 days.
"Some of the older people that are here that have stopped by and they tell me stories about when they were younger and just things that they remember," Zumbrennen said.
The mural is a block from Pike Avenue, depicting some of the history on that main street through Columbus.
“This was the place where a lot of people came and got supplies,” said Penny Redli, Museum of the Beartooths executive director. “And came through and traveled to their homesteads and probably brought their cattle or whatever when they were moving to the homestead.”
Redli says the painting depicts the challenging life of coming to the town originally called Sheep Dip.
“Eagle's Nest was an early one,” Redli said. “And then Sheep Dip. They used to run the sheep through a dip for parasites and that kind of stuff and then it was Stillwater.”
The painting is expected to be a big draw, bringing tourists and art lovers to Columbus and hopefully an economic boost for the town.
“It's great to bring it alive in a town like this, and it gets people talking,” said Myrna Lastusky, project manager for Beartooth Resource Conservation & Development (RC & D). “And it lets the older generation talk to the younger about, this is what was going on, when my great grandparents were living here.”
Beartooth RC & D is leading the effort on a series of projects called Recharge Our Community’s Economy.
“It makes people happy to see beautiful artwork on the side of a building,” Latasky said. “And what Rilie does is phenomenal.”
“It's great to see all these people so excited,” Zumbrennen said. “It just gives me so much energy and positivity to keep doing what I love.”
The new art has already become the talk of the town.
