People of Trumansburg

The People of Trumansburg Mural was painted in 2016 by Dan Burgevin and Salima Guireyon on the side of the NAPA Auto Parts building at 1 East Main Street, Trumansburg. In explaining how a mural tells a story and consists of parts of history, Burgevin had this to say: “We all need parts - we build all this stuff. We build our civilization, but it breaks down.” So, it is appropriate that the mural, depicting parts of human history, was painted on the side of a parts store. This particular mural follows a chronological progression, representing aspects of Trumansburg history throughout the generations.

Reading the mural from left to right, the first figure on the left is Cornplanter (Gaiänt'wakê), who lived from 1732–1836. He was a Dutch-Seneca War Chief and diplomat who fought in the French & Indian War and the American Revolutionary War on the side of the British. After the Revolutionary War, he was instrumental in negotiating treaties that ceded large tracts of land to the U.S. government. Cornplanter was awarded 1,500 acres of land along the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania in payment for his aid to the U.S. government. This land, known as the Cornplanter Tract, was utilized for the displaced peoples of the Seneca Nation.

Inscription at the bottom reads:

EXTINCT HEATH HENS & PASSENGER PIDGEONS [sic] SURROUND GAIANTWAKE

CORNPLANT HOLDS A BROKEN SPEAR POINT AND FLINT

Just to the right of Cornplanter is Abner Tremaine (Tremain, Treman), one of the founding fathers of Trumansburg. Abner received a tract of land for his service in the American Revolutionary War, and it is on this parcel that Trumansburg (originally “Tremaine’s Village”) was established and incorporated in 1872. Next to Abner is John McLallen, his brother-in-law. The two of them are carrying a gear for their mill. The topography of the area was ideal for mills, so Abner built two along the creek, a sawmill and a grist mill. According to Burgevin, “These guys were not opposed to having Indians on their land. I’m thinking Abner had already gone through one war, and didn’t want another one. He got awarded a beautiful plot of land in (Military Lot) number 7. He was a Western man; he saw creeks as mill sites. Right down behind here (referring to the mural site) he had a mill.”

Inscription at the bottom reads:

ABNER TREMAN HAULS A BUSTED MILL WHEEL WITH BROTHER IN LAW JOHN McLALLEN

To the right of Abner Tremaine and John McLallen is Lloyd Dorsey rolling a wagon wheel. Dorsey is believed to be the first African-American voter in the Town of Ulysses. Dorsey self-liberated from enslavement in Maryland to freedom in Trumansburg in the early 1840s, where he met and married Nancy M. Hemans, a free Black woman from the Town of Caroline. After their marriage in 1844, Dorsey worked as a carter (a person who transports a load on a cart drawn by a beast of burden), and Nancy was a laundress and domestic. In 1851, Dorsey purchased “an acre of land with appurtenances” from Erastus R. Treman, Abner’s son. The purchase price was $430, and at the time, $250 was the minimum value of property required for a Black man to gain the right to vote. There are no pictures available to indicate what Lloyd Dorsey may have looked like. Muralist Dan Burgevin took license with Dorsey’s image, painting him to look like a beloved local, the late Timmy Brown (1950–2009). Timmy Brown was an avid blues musician and artist, and the neck of a banjo peeking over Dorsey’s shoulder pays homage to Brown’s love of music and local performance.

Inscription at the bottom reads:

A WILD TURKEY BEHIND LLOYD DORSEY, ESCAPED SLAVE WHO BOUGHT LAND FROM TREMAN’S SON

LAND OWNERSHIP CAME WITH VOTING RIGHTS MAKING DORSEY THE 1ST BLACK VOTER IN T. BURG

To the right of Dorsey are Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sojourner Truth, suffragettes and abolitionists. Stanton is best known as a leader of the women’s rights movement, and was one of the lead organizers of the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. Truth, a former slave, joined Stanton in her fight for women’s rights, and was an outspoken advocate for civil rights, the abolition of slavery, and temperance. In 1851, Truth embarked on a lecture tour, during which she delivered her well-known “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech in Akron, Ohio. Although as much a champion of women’s rights as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, her beliefs differed from those of Stanton, as Stanton argued that she would not support voting rights for Black citizens if women were denied. Truth also departed from the views of Frederick Douglass (another prominent abolitionist of the time), as he believed that previously enslaved Black men should be granted suffrage before women. In both instances, Truth believed that all rights should be granted concurrently.

Inscription at the bottom reads:

ELIZABETH CADY STANTON HAULS HER SON HENRY WITH FELLOW SUFFRAGETTE/ABOLISTIONIST [sic] SOJOURNER TRUTH. WOMEN WOULD BE DENIED VOTING RIGHTS FOR ANOTHER 80 YEARS AFTER MR. DORSEY RECEIVED HIS.

Next in the mural is Walt Whitman. Although there he has no direct connection to Trumansburg, he was referred to by Ezra Pound as “America’s poet...He is America.” Burgevin defends his inclusion in the mural by laughingly stating, “He might have come through Shin Hollow, and stopped to have a beer. It’s fun to speculate.”

Inscription at the bottom reads:

POET WALT WHITMAN, BENT PEN IN HAND, DROPS SOME LEAVES OF GRASS WHILE A SNIPE EXPLORES THE CHESNUT [sic] TREE TRUNK.

The gentleman next to Whitman is a typical bus driver, who seems to have a broken vehicle in need of repair. Note that he is also carrying a whip, which would imply that the bus he was driving was a horsebus, which was popular from approximately 1870 to 1900.

Inscription at the bottom reads:

THE LAUDEN DEPOT BUS DRIVER CARRYS [sic] A BROKEN HANDLE. HIS PART.

To the right of the bus driver is a woman “from Suffolk County.” She is carrying a broken automobile headlamp in one hand and a wrench in the other. Per Burgevin, “she’s going to fix it herself.” Her inclusion in the mural takes the timeline further into the twentieth century, to the time of automobiles, and to the time of women becoming increasingly self-reliant during WWI.

Inscription at the bottom reads:

A YOUNG DRIVER, WRENCH IN HAND, GOES TO FIND A PART AND FIX HER CAR.

Next to the woman stands Durand Van Doren, a local blacksmith. Van Doren moved to Trumansburg in the mid-1980s. His works have become world-renowned, as noted in an Ithaca Times article from July 18, 2020: “In conjunction with other metalworkers, Van Doren lent his artistic style to a bee that he forged for a gate to the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. The gate features ironwork from around the world, and each piece represents an animal mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays.” Van Doren’s work is featured in many local landmarks, most prominently the 14-foot-long gate in front of Cascadilla Gorge, the lanterns in front of Willard Straight Hall, the arched entrance to the Inn at Taughannock, and three entrances to the garden at Cornell’s Mann Library. According to Burgevin, “Van Doren represents the modern era. His old Chevy pickup’s fuel pump went again.” Van Doren also served on the Trumansburg Youth Commission for two decades, including ten years as Youth Commissioner. He actively engaged the youth of the community with blacksmithing arts and community events for over twenty years through his roles in the Youth Commission, Trumansburg Rotary Club, and as a mentor with the Learning Web of Tompkins County. His blacksmith forge can be visited in Mecklenburg, NY, at the ARQbarn on Carman Road.

Inscription at the bottom reads:

ABOVE A PILEATED FLYS OVER DURAND VAN DORN [sic], ARTISAN EXTRAUDINAIR [sic]

CARRYS [sic] A FUEL PUMP FOR HIS TRUSTY OLD CHEVY PICK UP

The final two characters depicted in the mural are local farmers and Cornell University graduates Tony Potenza and John Tamburello “coming out of the parts store,” both holding parts to repair their farming equipment. Tony Potenza was the first organic farmer to be listed in the New York State Registry, and in the 1970s, he was a co-founder of the Finger Lakes Organic Growers (FLO) and one of the founding members of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY). Potenza has focused on growing beans and grains for over 40 years, and his products are used in many local restaurants and bakeries. His early work developing soybeans as a local product resulted in the formation of Ithaca Soy, whose tofu products are made entirely with Potenza Organic Farms soybeans.

John Tamburello is a co-owner of Glenhaven Farm in Trumansburg, which grows u-pick blueberries and produces wines and ciders from a variety of fruits. Tamburello graduated from Cornell University at the age of 29, and planted his first blueberry bushes in 1979, which are still producing fruit today. Glenhaven began producing fruit wines from their crops in the early 2000s and are a beloved staple at the Ithaca Farmers Market.

Inscription at the bottom reads:

JOHN TAMARILLO [sic] & TONY POTENZA ORGANIC FARMERS & PISANS [sic] ARE SURROUNDED BY

MONARCH BUTTERFLYS [sic] THANKS FOR PLANTING NON GMO CORN

Throughout the mural, the inscriptions at the bottom make additional references to the birds and flora that are depicted in the background, on the ground, or on the tree...RED BREASTED NUTHATCH, BOB WHITES, BROWN CREEPER, FEMALE ORIOLE, CARDINAL FLOWER, RUBY THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, FERAL CAT W/WHIP OR WILL [sic], STARLING, CROW & YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER, BLUEBERRY w BLUEBIRD. It is important to note that Burgevin highlights not only two extinct bird species, the heath hen and the passenger pigeon, but also the chestnut tree. Although the chestnut is not extinct, it came near extinction nearly a century ago when the majority of chestnut trees were destroyed by an invasive blight fungus from Asia. The chestnut played a vital role in American history, as its edible nuts were used to fatten livestock for market, and they were a popular holiday treat for people. Chestnut was also the preferred species of lumber for building log cabins, and later for poles, flooring, and railroad ties, so it is quite befitting that the chestnut tree takes center stage in this mural.

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