HAMLET — A new mural is expected to grace the side of a wall in the Seaboard City within the next year, with a little financial support from a local manufacturer.
Representatives from American Woodmark presented a $1,500 check to Hamlet Depot and Museums on Tuesday to go toward the painting of a downtown mural on Main Street.
The check was accepted by Angie Averitte, treasurer of Hamlet Historic Depot, the nonprofit that helps maintain the city-owned site.
Averitte said the mural has been on the Depot’s wish list of about 30 ideas for several years, but the projects were prioritized.
“We’ve got to take care of our needs before we take care of our wishes,” Averitte said. “Now we’re wishing and making things happen…we will make this place more friendly.”
The subject of the mural: the famed Orange Blossom Special, which connected New York to Miami, Florida, during the days of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad.
A print featuring the Orange Blossom Special at the Hamlet Depot hangs in the office of the Visitors Center.
Photo by William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
“We…honor our history, our rail history…that’s a part of history that’s gone and will never come back,” Averitte said. “At the end of the day, we want to preserve the legacy of the Seaboard.
Averitte said the Depot is one of the most photographed train stations in the eastern U.S. and, with the mural, “that uniqueness will continue to grow.”
While a location has yet to be secured, Averitte said the plan is to have the mural where it can be seen while driving up Main Street from across the railroad tracks.
“If you think about small towns that you go to — whether it’s in Moore County or even downtown Rockingham, you see these murals,” Averitte said. “That’s really eye-popping.”
Averitte said she hopes the idea will come to fruition within the next 365 days.
American Woodmark rep Thomas Ringer said the company is glad to be a small part of preserving the history of the community.
“We’re grateful that we could do something,” Ringer said.
This isn’t the Depot’s first grant from the cabinet manufacturer. In 2020, the American Woodmark Foundation donated $1,500 for renovations to the gift shop — the only source of funding for the nonprofit other than grants, according to Averitte.
“While we don’t have a lot of expenses, we have a lot of dreams,” Averitte said. “And we try real hard to utilize the resources in the community.”
While the mural project is in the beginning stages, another prime project is about to begin.
Seaboard Locomotive 1114 is prepped for new paint at Hamlet's Main Street Park.
William R. Toler - Richmond Observer
Crews have erected the poles for a tent over the Seaboard Locomotive 1114 and caboose on display across the road at Main Street Park, which is being prepped for a paint job.
Averitte said that once painting begins, the project should take about 10 days to complete — weather permitting.
The locomotive — on loan to the city of Hamlet from the National Railroad Museum and Hall of Fame — was built by General Motors in 1964 for the Seaboard Airline Railroad and was designed for both passenger and freight.
The 1114 was last painted in 2014, but has faded over the past decade from being exposed to the weather.
Part of the funding for that project came from a $5,000 Care to Share grant from Pee Dee Electric.
Last year, the Depot itself underwent roof renovations.
