Pocahontas County artist Molly Must’s mural on First Avenue in Marlinton, inspired by the writing of local writers G D and Louise McNeill, has become a local landmark. For the past few months Molly has been working on a mural depicting the impact of the Civil War on the local community of Pocahontas County. Inspired by the 150th anniversary of the war, and in particular the Battle of Droop Mountain and its effect on the Hillsboro area, the mural was scheduled to go on the wall of the Hudson Building in Marlinton, which was destroyed in the recent fire. The mural is nearly completed, and Molly is inviting art fans and Civil War buffs to a preview Sunday, Nov. 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. in her studio atop the Pretty Penny Café in Hillsboro. The studio, formerly the Hillsboro Masonic lodge, is accessed by an outdoor stairway at the rear of the Pretty Penny building, on the side closest to My Daughter’s Attic. The studio is not handicap accessible.
The 7 x 15 foot mural has a wide variety of images of soldiers and civilians, including Molly’s great-great-great-great-grandmother, who lived at Marlin’s Bottom, site of present day Marlinton, and organized a bucket brigade of women to put out a fire on the old covered bridge across the Greenbrier when it was torched by marauding troops.
Since Hudson’s is no longer an option, Molly is beginning the search for an alternate site for the new mural. Funding for the project came from the Pocahontas County Commission and the WV Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.
