The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley The Randolph County Commission has unveiled an eagle mural that was recently painted on the back of one of the old Kelly Foundry buildings located on South Railroad Avenue in Elkins. The mural was painted by Heather Johnson and covered up graffiti on the building.

ELKINS – In order to eliminate an eyesore for those visiting Elkins and taking train rides aboard the Tygart Flyer, the Randolph County Commission has spearheaded a project to eliminate unwanted graffiti alongside a section of railroad tracks.

This week, the Randolph County Commission unveiled an eagle mural that has been painted on the back of one of the old Kelly Foundry buildings located on South Railroad Avenue.

“We put the mural in that location to cover up a bunch of graffiti that people would see when taking a train ride,” Randolph County Commission President David Kesling told The Inter-Mountain. “When people were riding the trains, it was one of the first things they would see when leaving the depot. So we wanted to cover that up and now they will see a beautiful mural that celebrates American spirit and community pride.”

For those taking train rides out of the Elkins Railroad Depot, the mural will be visible to passengers after crossing the Wilson Street Train Bridge located next to the historic Darden Mill that houses the Appalachian Forest Discovery Center.

The eagle mural, which was painted by local artist Heather Johnson, is part of the America 250 Project. Through the efforts of Randolph County Commission grant writer Peggy Ross, the RCC was able to obtain a $5,000 Arts Grant from the West Virginia Department of Tourism State Arts Office.

“There was a State Arts Grant to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday that they were giving out for projects,” Kesling said. “So we got together with Peggy (Ross) and she applied for and received the grant for us. There were several pictures that she presented to us to select from and the eagle one received the most votes. And it had to be approved by the state before we received the grant.”

Johnson, who is from Coalton, has artwork on display scattered across Randolph County. She is responsible for the popular mural painted on the side of Mountain Valley Bank in downtown Elkins.

“Of course we were going to get Heather (Johnson) to do this project,” Kesling said. “She is a fantastic artist who did the mural on Mountain Valley Bank, as well as all the murals at the Randolph County Pool and Splash Pad. We really wanted her to do this new one for us and we were happy she agreed to do it.”

Kesling said the Randolph County Commission also contributed $400 to the project, while the Emma Scott Garden Club donated $900 for a lift and Johnson $1,200 for supplies.

“We appreciate everyone’s help with this project,” Kesling said. “The train is a big tourist attraction for the town and the county, and the graffiti that was on that building was a real eyesore. Now when they hop on the train and start to leave town they can see that beautiful mural that Heather (Johnson) created for us.”