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Neosho Arts Council needs you to help save a piece of American Military History. During the Second World War Neosho was home to Camp Crowder and thousands of soldiers received training there. Recently the Neosho Arts Council discovered a mural designed and painted by an unknown soldier who was passing though the camp for training before deploying overseas. Sadly, portions of the mural remain only in their early stages of a detailed sketch, as duty called the artist was forced to answer before he was able to complete the painting.
For decades this mural has been hidden away and almost lost to history. Now, over half a century later this work of art by an American solider is in need of protection and preservation. We need your help to save this mural so that future generations can learn about Neosho’s role in American History. The following work is needed to ensure this mural survives
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Mural Removed May 2025
Read full press release here
Neosho Arts Council has successfully completed the first stage of their mission
to save not only a work of art but a piece of American military history. Last year the organization discovered a mural
created by an unknown soldier who was stationed at Camp Crowder during World
War II. This past weekend the mural was carefully removed from the structure
where it has been for over 80 years. “When we learned about this piece of art we knew it had to be protected and preserved,” Sarah Serio, president of the Neosho Arts Council said. “After consultation with art preservation experts it was determined that the wall board the mural is on needed to be removed from the structure.” The council worked with a local contractor who has experience in historic restoration. John Clear, owner of Clear Construction, completed on-site assessments of the structural integrity of each panel along with the building's structural integrity. He then brought in a team to begin the slow and careful process of removing each panel of wall board the mural was on. “As they started the removal process several pieces of trim board that had been added to the building after the war had to be taken down first and we actually unearthed just a little more of the original artwork including portions of a horse’s head,” Serio said. The mural is approximately 24 feet long and 6 feet tall spanning 8 panels of wall board. “John and his team were able to access the back side of the wall the mural is on which allowed them to cut the shaft of each nail from behind the art,” Serio explained. According to Clear this was the most difficult aspect of removing the mural. “I approached this project the same as I've approached other sheetrock or wall board removal, slow and steady,” he said. Each panel was mounted to the structure's stud walls with nails every six inches. At the end of the removal process over 250 individual nails were slowly cut to release the wall board from the studs. “Getting the panels off of the wall without breaking proved to be more difficult than anticipated. There were several panels that were cracked, some from age and some from water damage,” Clear added. Team members wore gloves to prevent the transfer of skin oils onto the arts surface while they worked in tandem to stabilize and lower each released panel. The individual panels were then walked to a staging area where a second team carefully wrapped each panel and prepared them for packing into a custom built wood crate. The panels will now be stored until funds can be secured to begin the next phase of preservation. “We are still working to raise all the funds needed to preserve this mural but on advice from our art conservator we knew that it was vital to the arts safety to get it removed from the structure,” Serio said. Clear and his team donated all of their labor during the removal process. “That is a gift that will benefit the overall project and allow all financial donations to now be used towards the preservation of the mural,” Serio explained. “We will never find a piece of World War II mural art like this again,” Serio said. “Before this work is lost we want to save it and we need support from the community to accomplish this goal.” During World War II Camp Crowder served as a Signal Corps training facility. At its peak it covered over 42,000 acres and housed up to 47,000 soldiers. Hundreds of buildings were constructed including barracks, mess halls, chapels, training facilities, and more. “Camp Crowder had numerous solider-artist and we have photos of several murals that were created there during the war but as far as we know none of those survived the closing of the camp in the 1950’s, until now,” Serio said. With the end of the war in 1945, activities at Camp Crowder began to wind down. Many of the original wooden structures were sold at surplus auctions. One such building was sold to a family just outside of Neosho. Despite the structure being used for agricultural work by the family the mural remained. “The mural we are working to save is unique in the fact that the artist was unable to complete it,” Serio added. Portions of the mural remain only in their early stages of a detailed sketch, as duty called the artist was forced to answer before he was able to complete the painting. “The carefully crafted grid is still visible which the artist used to transfer his design from paper to wall,” Serio said. “Against all odds the detailed pencil sketches that show the artist's true vision for the work are still on the wall.” The artist had just started the process of painting and the pigment of the paint he used still holds fast to this mural of American history. “Since the work was exposed to agricultural work, has some cracks, and water damage it will need to be carefully cleaned by an art conservation expert so none of the artwork is lost. Then repairs can be made to ensure stability and longevity,” Serio said. The mural will also receive a preservation treatment which will help ensure the delicate pencil marks on the mural are not lost to time. The council has set a goal of raising $25,000 to remove, restore, and preserve the mural. “We plan to move this mural into Neosho and have it on public display so that everyone visiting our community can experience this work of art, learn more about solider-artists, and how Neosho played a part in American history,” Serio said. Currently they have raised 32% of the funds needed. Donations can be made online at neoshoarts.net or by mailing a check to Neosho Arts Council, PO Box 605, Neosho, MO 64850. Additional information about the mural and Camp Crowder can be found on the group’s website. |
Neosho Arts Council has successfully completed the first stage of our mission to save not only a work of art but a piece of American military history. Last year we discovered a mural created by an unknown soldier who was stationed at Camp Crowder during World War II. This past weekend the mural was carefully removed from the structure where it has been for over 80 years.
Thank you to our historic preservation contractor John Clear for successfully removing the 24' x 6' mural! Clear and his team donated all of their labor during the removal process. The panels will now be stored until funds can be secured to begin the next phase of preservation. That includes cleaning by an art conservation expert so none of the artwork is lost along with repairs to ensure stability and longevity, and a preservation treatment. |
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Learn about Neosho’s contribution to ensuring America’s freedom!
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From small islands in the South Pacific to major metropolitan cities of Europe, World War II impacted and changed communities around the world including the small town of Neosho, MO. At the time the small rural southwest Missouri community had a population of less than 3,000. The United States Army broke ground for what became Camp Crowder on 30 August 1941, approximately three miles southeast of Neosho, in Newton County. The first soldiers arrived on 2 December 1941, just five days before the Pearl Harbor attack. Over 352 new buildings were initially built at the camp, but that was not enough and soon more construction was needed. In order to establish this camp, major improvements had to be made in roads, utilities, railroad spurs, sewage system, and numerous buildings including barracks, mess halls and training facilities.
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Camp Crowder was a Signal Corps training facility. This branch of the United States Army creates and manages communications and information systems. Soldiers came from across the United States and were trained in forty different military communications specialties involving radio, radar and telephone operation, and maintenance. In addition to the signal corps training, Camp Crowder also included an Officer Candidate Preparatory School, the first school of its kind in any Army installation.
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At its peak, Camp Crowder covered over 42,000 acres and housed up to 47,000 soldiers. The grounds included six movie theaters, sixteen chapels, one hospital, 15 smaller infirmaries, three dental clinics, a field house, twenty-two branch sites of the Post Exchange, three beauty parlors, many training facilities, and more. Staff published a newspaper “Camp Crowder Message” (later “The Message”) with a circulation of 15,000. In addition to American soldiers and foreign POWs, Camp Crowder also housed Women’s Army Corps (WAC) personnel and American Red Cross offices.
Camp Crowder's Impact on Neosho
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With the end of the war in 1945, activities at Camp Crowder began to wind down. But Neosho was changed and would continue to see change from the impact of Camp Crowder.
In 1956 about 2,000 acres of the former Camp Crowder were sectioned off and transferred to the United States Air Force. That same year, Air Force Plant No. 65, which was a Rocketdyne run site, employing around 1,250 workers, opened. This was a government owned-contractor operated liquid propelled rocket engine manufacturing facility. Rocketdyne manufactured and tested rocket engines at the site, including rockets used in the Mercury and Gemini Space Programs. Most famously, these workers built and tested the liquid-propellant rockets for space missiles Thor and Jupiter, the booster for Atlas rockets, and components of the Saturn V engine which brought Apollo 11 to the moon. |
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By 1963 another portion of Camp Crowder was sectioned off and Crowder College was established. Enrollment recently at the two year community college was just shy of 4,000 students seeking degrees in the arts, sciences, agriculture, and technology.
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The Missouri National Guard still utilizes a portion of the original Camp Crowder grounds for various training purposes such as weapons qualification, engineer equipment training, and field combat exercises. The impact of Camp Crowder is long reaching in Neosho.
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Camp Crowder's Lost Mural
Many of the original wooden structures that served as barracks, day rooms, chapels, and more were sold at surplus auctions in the 1960's. One such building was sold to a family just outside of Neosho. Inside this structure remained a mural designed and painted by an unknown soldier who was passing though the camp for training before deploying to serve overseas. Sadly, portions of the mural remain only in their early stages of a detailed sketch, as duty called the artist was forced to answer before he was able to complete the painting.
Despite the structure being used for agricultural work the mural remained. The carefully crafted grid is still visible which the artist used to transfer his design from paper to wall, the detailed pencil sketches show his true vision, and the pigment of the paint holds fast to this mural of American history.
Now over half a century later this work of art by an American solider is in need of protection and preservation.
The following work is needed to ensure this mural survives
Despite the structure being used for agricultural work the mural remained. The carefully crafted grid is still visible which the artist used to transfer his design from paper to wall, the detailed pencil sketches show his true vision, and the pigment of the paint holds fast to this mural of American history.
Now over half a century later this work of art by an American solider is in need of protection and preservation.
The following work is needed to ensure this mural survives
- Removal from current location
- Create new structural support
- Repairs to original wall board the mural is painted on
- Clean with tested surfactant
- Restoration of paint
- In-paint losses with conservation grade raw pigments
- Preservation treatment and UV varnish
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Above are detail photos of the mural showing both the painted areas and the original detailed sketches by the artist.
A detailed look at a section of the mural. This shows the painted portion and the sketched portion side by side. Some damage is also visible in this image. Restoration work will include measures to prevent the damaged areas from expanding, cleaning of dirt and debris, and a preservation treatment to ensure the paint and pencil markings are not damaged in the future plus protection from UV light.
