Mark DeCracker of the Mural Mania project, on Thursday, announced the latest installment of an historic mural. Mural Mania installed a mural for the Wayne County Humane Society. 

The artists were  grateful to the Lyons Community Center Inc. who allowed them to use the space to paint over the last few months. The spectacular new mural calls attention to the work the Humane Society does. 

An official dedication will be made in June.  

This weekend, another set of murals will be installed at the Lyons Dry Dock.

The two murals, the “Poorhouse Lock 56” and “Honoring those who worked on the Erie/Barge Canal” span two historic eras of the Erie Canal.   These murals located along the Empire State Trail at the Lyons Dry Dock give a viewer a glimpse back in time.  

The first mural Honoring those who worked on the Erie/Barge Canal was completed in April of 2021 and features the Dipper Dredge No.3, the tugboat DeWitt Clinton and a barge used for the canal spill.  Dipper Dredge No. 3 is in the Lyons Dry Dock but has not been operated since 1985.  It was built in 1929 but has some “recycled” components from 1909.  As a steam powered vessel, it is unlikely that Dipper Dredge No. 3 will ever return to functioning condition.  Across the top of the mural are the words “Honoring those who worked on the Erie/Barge Canal.” 

The second mural, completed in November 2021, depicts old Erie Canal Lock 56, often referred to as the Poor House Lock because of its proximity to the former Wayne County Poorhouse. Also depicted in this mural is the Poorhouse Grocery store, where boaters bought goods as they traveled back and forth. This mural pays tribute to those that were instrumental in the success of the Erie Canal these include father and son Canal engineers, Jacob Leach and Augustus M. Leach of Lyons, portrayed chatting on the bulkhead of Lock 56. The mural also honors two boyhood friends Richard Garrity and Glen Salisbury who were hoagies on the Erie Canal. Richard Garrity wrote the book Canal Boatman. In 1990 these two friends were united after 70 years and shared their stories of traveling through this lock and on their way to NYC.  In special tribute to Allyn Perry who has lived in the Poorhouse grocery store all her life, Mark DeCracker announced that they painted the Allyn Perry boat going through the lock carrying local Hotchkiss peppermint oil going west.