Mural, Mural on the Wall. Sound familiar? Drumright, Oklahoma, is unique in that it is not only a City of Murals, and murals which express the local resident's application of art, but they tell the story of the City of Drumright, a town of oil repute.

The first mural to appear for public approval was the mural which most likely has had the most public exposure, yet has probably suffered the least recognition. Why?... because it is high on the wall of the Drumright Post Office which experiences a constant parade of residents but who are most likely in a hurry or too preoccupied to look up. Consequently, they might miss the scene. The Post Office scene was done in 1941 by an artist whose name was Frank Long. The artist chose to portray the "Oklahoma Land Run" which is associated with the settlement of the Indian Territory which is now Oklahoma.

The second mural was the result of a former Drumright High School educator, James Brill, who upon his retirement chose to return to his hometown and leave a permanent mark in the culture of the town. He organized five local artists, produced a large sketch of his view of the early settlers to the Indian Territory as it was seen by the French explorers, the Native Americans, and the unfolding of the magic of Black Gold as it was discovered, refined and exploited as one of the leading suppliers of oil in World War 1. The five artists were John Watson, Marie Talley, Gene Bond, Maurice Saulsbery, Dorothy Parker, and Brill. The mural is located inside the Drumright Historical Museum at 301 E. Broadway. When the last train left Drumright, The Santa Fe Railway Co. returned the train depot to the City of Drumright. Through the efforts of Emma Akin, who was involved with Drumright School System for 43 years, the property became The Oil Field Museum in 1963.

The Museum is believed to be the only museum in Oklahoma devoted to the subject of Oil and its part in the history of Oklahoma.
With these two murals as an incentive to establish a complete history of this thriving boomtown, a local resident, Mrs. J. J. Cook, saw the possibilities in preserving the history of a time and place in Oklahoma which was rapidly dying off. After WWII the need for oil had diminished, and the numerous boomtowns, some old timers could count at least 13 towns within a few miles radius of Drumright which had settled from a population of approximately 20,000 to a tranquil town of perhaps 7,000 individuals who chose to remain while other boomtowns had already become victim.

Drumright is believed to be the only remaining oil related boomtown in Oklahoma. With the aid of local persons, money was raised to establish a mural on the side of a building on East Broadway. It, too, was painted by five local artists under the watchful eye of local artist Gwen Ingram. She visualized Drumright before it was as boomtown where a small tribe of Native Americans by the name of Tiger was still living in tepees in an area where Drumright later developed. She depicted wild horses as they ran wild in the sparse, rocky terrain before 1912 when the Wheeler Oil Well blew in. The building was damaged during a tornado, and a subsequent ice storm, threatened the roof so the present mural was left without certain finishing touches. The next mural was a scene from the Great Depression Era when a person could attend any of Drumright's three Moving Picture Shows for 10 cents.

Today Drumright is settled down to approximately 3,000 residents, but it a good, solid town with seven of the nine historic sites, outstanding schools, loyal citizens, who show no indication that this town will become a ghost town. Consequently, it is seemed plausible that the Way Park Show should be immortalized for its contribution to the Drumright preservations cause. A scene from the Way Park Show is portrayed on the East side of the Boomtown Theater. It preserves for posterity a show of young dancers who were students of a showgirl from New York who came to the wild pioneer town to make a fortune, or make a new start, or to escape from an old life to a new one.

The nation was stunned with the Twin Tower disaster in New York City. The terrorists attack, as one reporter stated, was "intended to change America." It did. Instead of paralyzing the nation, American people were unified. Flags were brought out of mothballs and displayed. Newspaper editor Barbara Vice asked readers how they would respond to the terrorists' attack. Generally, the response was "We want a flag so big it can be seen by pilots flying over. We want it to be the biggest flag mural in the State of Oklahoma - and, maybe even beyond. It was, and still is, as far as we know." The mural was done by Dr. Bob Palmer who was head of the Department of Art at the Central University of Oklahoma in Edmond. Three of his art students worked with him.

A mural completed in 1994 that depicts a butterfly scene is the work of Bill Volok, local artist, who involved school children funding as a nature subject titled “Natures Gifts.� The butterfly as it emerges from an ugly cocoon is symbolic of Drumright which has survived two tornados and tends to become a better place each time. The mural is located near Harley Avenue and Broadway.

At the same location but facing the “Butterfly� mural is another view of oil field and wildflowers with a pondsignifying that both nature and technology can exist side by side. The mural was commissioned in 1994 by A. B. Still and his wife Sandra, owners of the building. It was also painted by Bill Volok, a DHS graduate.

The Drumright Street Scene of 1920 depicting Drumright at it's grandest time in history is located across from the Spirit Bank on W. Broadway. The 100 foot mural, completed in 1998, is the work of Darren Maine of Perry, Oklahoma. The mural presents a dramatic side-by-side view of Drumright in its heyday with a population of approximately 18,000, and its present-day main street.

The Oil Patch College mural is located at 305 E. Broadway. The mural was painted by Dr. Bob Palmer, Head ofthe Art Department at the University of Central Oklahoma, with assistants Scot Henderson and Robert Wood. The mural is a tribute to the oil industry which gave Drumright its legacy and its birthplace. The shotgun house in the mural is from a picture provided by June Blackwell whose grandfather built the house. Her grandmother is standing in the doorway, and the little girl in the picture is June’s mother. Dona Smith provided the photo of horses pulling a heavy load of pipe up the steep and muddy infamous Tiger Hill. The pumping unit and wood circulating tank are located on land owned by Phil & Melanie Osterhout.

The train scene mural, completed in 1997, is located at the corner of Harley and Broadway. In 1925, not onebut two, trains regularly came to Drumright. The mural was done by artist Darren Maine of Perry, and shows what appears to be a snow scene, but actually is a view of the muddy area, sans sidewalks, which greeted guests as they emerged from the trains.

The last mural depicting the history of Drumright, Oklahoma, is inside the building located at the corner of Broadway and Ohio is another example of artist Dr. Bob Palmer and it completes the series of 12 "The Way We Were" murals. It is inside the restaurant and is located on the south wall of the eating area.