Welcome to Boligee Mural | Boligee, Alabama
When Boligee Mayor Hattie Samuels contacted artist Banks Compton, she had a straightforward goal: help put her small town on the map.
Banks created the large-scale Welcome to Boligee mural on the town's community center, transforming a prominent brick wall into a colorful visual history of the community.
The mural is divided into two scenes representing Boligee's past and present, with transportation serving as the connection between them. A historic train and railroad represent the town's early development, while Interstate 20/59 and a logging truck represent the transportation networks that connect Boligee to the region today.
Putting a Small Alabama Town on the Map
Client: Town of Boligee
Location: Boligee, Alabama
Artist: Banks Compton
Project: Community Center Mural
Building: Former Local School
Imagery: Railroad, Train, Interstate, Logging, Agriculture & Camellias
Theme: Boligee's Past, Present & Community Identity
Project at a Glance
Celebrating Life in Rural Alabama
The mural isn't only about transportation.
Cattle, agricultural fields, forests, logging, camellias, wildlife, and the surrounding landscape help tell a broader story about everyday life in Boligee and rural West Alabama.
The two large circular landscapes are joined by a central Boligee banner, turning those individual details into a single portrait of the community.
The Alabama Mural Trail now includes the mural in its statewide collection of public artwork, listing Banks Compton as the artist and the Boligee Community Center as its location.
Transportation Through Boligee's History
Transportation has played an important role in Boligee's development for generations.
The Northeast and Southwest Railroad began construction toward the Boligee area in 1853. Although the Civil War delayed completion until 1870, the railroad eventually had such an impact that Boligee's post office and businesses relocated closer to the tracks, leaving the original settlement behind. Another railroad line was constructed through the area in the early 1920s.
Banks used that history as the foundation for the left side of the mural.
A steam locomotive travels through the landscape alongside cattle and agricultural imagery, representing the rural economy and transportation systems that shaped the earlier community.
Connecting the Past to the Present
The right side brings the story forward.
A green highway sign points toward Boligee at Exit 32, while a logging truck travels along the roadway. The scene references nearby Interstate 20/59 and the modern transportation network that now connects the small town with larger communities across Alabama and the Southeast.
The two scenes deliberately mirror one another: railroad tracks on one side and the highway on the other.
Together, they show how transportation has remained an important part of Boligee's story even as the way people and goods move through the region has changed.
A Community Center With a Continuing Purpose
The mural was painted on Boligee's community center, housed in a former school building.
The building continues to serve an important civic role. Recent reporting on Greene County documented the Boligee Community Center as a place where residents gather and participate in community and civic activities.
That makes the mural's location especially appropriate: the artwork celebrates Boligee's history on a building that continues to be used by the people whose community it represents.
Creating a Landmark for a Small Town
Boligee had a population of just over 300 in 2020, making it one of the smallest communities represented in Banks' mural portfolio.
But a community doesn't have to be large to deserve memorable public art.
The goal of the project was to turn an ordinary wall into something recognizable—a landmark that could welcome visitors, celebrate local history, and give residents another reason to feel proud of the place they call home.
For Banks, projects like Boligee demonstrate the ability of murals to make the stories of small and rural communities visible on a large scale.
About Banks Compton
Banks Compton is an Alabama-based mural artist and RISD alumnus whose work combines storytelling, nature, local history, and site-specific design.
His murals can be found throughout Alabama and across the United States, with a particularly strong body of public art throughout West Alabama and the Black Belt.
West Alabama Community Mural Projects
Banks creates custom murals and public art for cities, businesses, schools, organizations, and communities throughout Alabama and across the United States.
