Write a commentThe Oswego Town Historical Society proudly announces the unveiling of a new mural featuring Oswego Town native Dr. Mary Walker at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 15.
The new artwork will replace the current mural located just off the sidewalk on the side of river’s end bookstore, 19 W. Bridge St., Oswego, near the corner of West First Street.
“The original mural was badly deteriorated, and showed a Mary Walker in her old age,” said Town of Oswego Historian George DeMass. “We wanted to imagine her as the young woman she was just after getting home from the Civil War; 33-years-old and full of vigor and ambition to advocate for social justice and women’s rights.”
Mindy Ostrow, a retired assistant director of Tyler Art Gallery and museum studies instructor at SUNY Oswego, together with a committee of art professionals, selected a team of two women artists to complete the new mural.
“Jessica Culligan and Emily Holm were the top choice,” said Ostrow. “There were other great submissions, but these two showed they had the skills to execute the realism and the face we wanted to see – the bold, determined young woman looking ahead to a life of advocacy.”
Dr. Mary Walker was a Civil War surgeon, women’s rights activist and abolitionist. She was the second woman to obtain a medical degree in the United States and is – to date – the only female recipient of the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor.
This past year saw her fame rise as she was celebrated across the country. In 2023, the U.S. Army Garrison Regional Training Center in Virginia was re-named Fort Walker in honor of Dr. Walker’s heroism. This past June, the U.S. Mint selected her for its 2024 American Women Quarters Program and celebrated the release of her coin in Oswego.
Dr. Walker’s Medal of Honor was recently put on permanent display at the Richardson-Bates House Museum along with other artifacts from Dr. Mary Walker’s life. Visitors are welcome to view the exhibit from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at the museum located at 135 E. Third St., Oswego.
This mural project was made possible through the CNY Arts Grants for Regional Arts and Cultural Engagement (GRACE) re-grant program thanks to a New York State Senate Initiative supported by the New York State Legislature, the Office of the Governor and administered by the New York State Council on the Arts.
