Historic artwork in this courthouse portrays our regions past
The City of Hernando rallied to save the famed murals when they were about to be destroyed.
Murals depict the history of our area.
Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto was the first
documented European to traverse the southeastern United
States, to see the Mississippi River, and to cross it in 1541.
Nine murals inside the courthouse portray de Soto and
French explorers Bienville, Marquette, and Joliet.
The murals were commissioned for Memphis's Gayoso Hotel.
From 1903 to 1948, these murals hung in the Gayoso Hotel
in Memphis. These canvases were the largest ever painted by
American muralist Newton Alonzo Wells and are some of
the oldest surviving murals in the southeastern United States.
The Goldsmith family gave the murals to Hernando.
In 1948, Fred Goldsmith renovated
the Gayoso Hotel (to become the
Goldsmith's Department Store) and
removed the murals. Seizing an
opportunity, Hernando's mayor
asked for the murals. The town
then raised $5,000 to repair and
install the murals in the Hernando
Courthouse rotunda in 1953.
Artists recaptured the
murals' original grandeur.
Wells' paintings have been restored three
times— in the 1950s, the 1970s and again
in 2002—under the guidance of an art
restorer. The murals have a combined
appraised value of over $1 million. The
public is welcome to view the murals
during regular business hours.
Famous mural moments.
The late Louisiana politician Huey Long
was married beneath one of the murals
while it hung at the Gayoso Hotel
in 1913.
The murals appeared in a 1963 episode of the television show Route 66, which was filmed in Hernando.
What's wrong with this picture?
William Henry Powell's dramatic and brilliantly colored
canvas (above) was the last of eight large historical
paintings in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.
It shows Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto riding a
white horse and dressed in Renaissance finery, arriving
at the Mississippi River. The mural inaccurately depicts
the Southeastern Indian living in teepees. These Indians
actually lived in wooden buildings with mud-daub walls
and thatched roofs.
The First Contact Trail
This trail explores the historical,
cultural, and social changes that
occurred after the arrival of
Spanish explorer Hernando
de Soto—the first documented
European to see and cross the
Mississippi River near present-
day DeSoto County in 1541.
For a map of other trail sites
throughout Mississippi,
please go to our website:
www.firstcontacttrail.com.
[Photo caption-left bottom}: The lobby of the old Gayoso Hotel in Memphis was the first home for the murals.
Erected by Mississippi
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Exploration. A significant historical year for this entry is 1541.
Location. 34° 49.395′ N, 89° 59.676′ W. Marker is in Hernando, Mississippi, in DeSoto County. It is on U.S. 51 south of West Commerce Street, on the right when traveling south. Located at the DeSoto County Courthouse. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2535 US-51, Hernando MS 38632, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in the Mississippi Delta, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Hernando (within shouting distance of this marker); Trade helped the Indians develop ties with Hernando de Soto
Regarding Historic artwork in this courthouse portrays our regions past. The First Contact Trail website, noted at the end of the marker, is not available anymore.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 9, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 9, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,148 times since then and 292 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 9, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
