#exetermurals

Once the largest cattle ranching business in the U.S., The Foothills Sun-Gazette reports that the Gill Cattle Company of Exeter once owned or leased more than six million acres in nine western states. Still in the Gill family 140 years after its establishment, the operation is now run by a fifth-generation cowboy—the grandson of Adolph Gill, memorialized for the last 20 years on this Exeter, CA mural. Working out of a colorful studio 20 miles uphill from Exeter in the small Sequoia gateway town of Three Rivers, Nadi Spencer has been painting in watercolor and acrylic for more than 45 years. With considerable experience painting horses, dogs, and other animals, in 1997 Exeter asked her to paint this depiction of Adolph Gill and his ranch hands guiding a herd of cattle around nearby Rocky Hill—the fourth of now more than 30 murals commissioned by the town.  @nadispencerart

Approximately 3,000 years ago the Watchumna (Wakchumni) broke off from the Yokuts Tribe and settled the area around what has become Exeter, California. This hauntingly beautiful mural tells the sad tale of a Watchumna girl Leta, pictured here with her brother Hawtoy dressed in native costumes made by their grandparents Ichow and Wahnomkot. During her first year in school, and despite being the only non-white student, Leta completed two years of work and stood at the head of her class. Tragically however, Leta died of tuberculosis while in her sophomore year at Exeter High School. Painted on Pine Street in 1998, this mural by Glendale, California artist Ivonne Nagle was the ninth of now more than 30 murals commissioned by the city of Exeter.  @exetercalifornia

At the foot of the Sierra Nevada range the small town of Exeter, California has long played an important role in the economy of the state, as both ranch land and for its agricultural role in growing oranges and grapes. As a gateway to Sequoia National Park however, it also had a long history with the lumber industry, and Atwell Mill—now site of a popular campground—provided much of the towns building materials in the late 1800s. Born in Exeter in 1936 Martin Weekly eventually built a home in the foothills East of Sacramento where he committed himself to fine art, and for several years he and his late wife Pat operated a gallery in Carmel, California where askART says he exhibited his own work along with that of friends. Showing off his talents on a little larger scale in 2001, Weekly’s impressionistic mural on E Street for the city of Exeter remembers the mule trains used to transport logs to the mill many years ago.