Government Projects in Mineola

Bernard Zakheim, best known for his Coit Tower mural in San Francisco, painted New and Old Methods of Transportation for the Mineola post office in 1938. Texas Escapes reported in 2005 that a Texas Historical Commission brochure had listed it as missing, that the city now owned the old post office and meant to open it as a museum, and that Zakheim's son Nathan was recreating the mural. A former resident recalled it showing a train and local farm scenes. Wikipedia's list of Texas post office murals marks the original as destroyed.

What the plaque says

Government Projects in Mineola During the Great Depression (1929-41), Mineola residents were aided by federal and local government initiatives. Federal programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civil Works Administration (CWA) employed workers; provided funds for civic improvement, including street paving and the construction of a federal building; opened government aid offices; and commissioned artist Bernard Zakheim to paint a mural in the city post office. Municipal authorities also helped residents in need, made sewer and water extension improvements, and conducted a malaria control program. These government efforts combined to protect Mineola residents in a tumultuous time in U.S. history. (2009)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Governor Hogg Shrine — 9.0 mi
  Quitman's 27-acre city park, once a state historical park, where two houses tied to James Stephen Hogg's marriage stand beside an arboretum, a nature walk and the grounds of the Old Settlers Reunion.
• Tyler State Park — 17 mi
  A 985-acre park eight miles north of Tyler, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1935 to 1941 around a 64-acre spring-fed lake, with more than 13 miles of trails.
• Camp Ford Historic Park — 22 mi
  A free county park north of Tyler on the site of the largest Confederate prison camp west of the Mississippi, with a kiosk, an interpretive trail and a historical society museum downtown.
• Goodman-LeGrand House and Museum — 24 mi
  A Tyler house begun in 1859 as four rooms, enlarged by the Goodman family over 73 years, and left to the city in 1939 with its furnishings, in a garden that fills a city block.

More markers nearby

• Sarah Rosalie Patten Buchanan — steps away
• William Jesse McDonald — steps away
• Select Theater — steps away
• Mineola Opera Houses — steps away