Hallowell Elementary Mural

The mural begins with the Lenape Native Americans. The Lenape grew corn and other foods, which they could store for months. Girls and boys played a sport sort of like football. Whole sheets of bark were used to create the exterior of Wigwams, where people lived, and carefully constructed Longhouses were used for many activities such as drying food, sleeping, and sheltering multiple families. This will be depicted in the first large block of the mural. Next, smaller “bubbles” will be used to illustrate events. The first small bubble will show the Lenape people departing from their home in Horsham, and migrating to Canada and Oklahoma.

Artifacts of Lenape life are still preserved in the layers of earth beneath Horsham. Therefore, this mural will have a 3 in layer running along the base which serves as the ground in some scenes, but will be shown in section to reveal artifacts imbedded in the ground. This is an interesting way to “frame” the mural, and shows how history is tied to places, and can be discovered. (read more about discovering artifacts from Howard Hallowell)

This next piece depicts the early 1700’s. The Horsham Friends Meeting House was originally built from wood, and other necessities were quickly built such as a cemetery, school, food garden, etc. This meeting house is where the first marriage took place, which shows how young people started to create their own personal histories in this developing place. After the death of William Penn, Hannah Penn became the first female governor. This part of the painting depicts Hannah Penn in the back ground, discussing documents.

The following set of bubbles spans a large time frame. The first is the U.S. minted silver dollars. Before the U.S. Mint started producing money, people used whatever they happened to have, including European coins from a variety of countries. People lived a lifestyle in which they produced the things they needed, and then would trade for the things they lacked. They used both trading and money for many years, but having a U.S. money system has really changed our day to day lives!

Slaves were present in Horsham until at least 1777 when it was noted that oxen and a slave were taken by General Wayne's Army from Graeme Park after the army camped there in 1777. The new commonwealth of Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1780. During the time of the civil war, the country was divided on the issue of slavery. Many enslaved black people traveled a dangerous journey from southern states, which advocated for a slave economy, to northern Union states which wanted to abolish slavery as a commodity. The route which people traveled to reach the north had many stops, and was called the “Underground Railroad”. It had stops right here in Horsham, where some farmers hid the runaways. It was illegal to shelter and aid any runaway slave. The North won the civil war, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and blacks and whites were all free in this country. It would be a long time before all people were equal, however, the Underground Railroad marks a major shift in history, and Horsham was a part of that.

Finally, there is a portrait of Howard Hallowell sitting with his steel hanger in the background. Hallowell grew up in Horsham on his father’s farm, and they were a very important part of this community! Their farm expanded far, and as a boy Howard worked incredibly hard tending the farm and going to the markets. He eventually went to college and did extremely well, which surprised many people who didn’t expect a farmer to be so successful in mechanics. He developed a pressed steel hanger, and his company Standard Pressed Steel, in 1903. SPS quickly grew into a major company.