School Marms on the Bay

About the mural

Before the communities of Punta Gorda and Charlotte Harbor Town were connected by a bridge, travel back and forth across the harbor was by boat. If no power boat was available, the pole and oar were used by many. Some teachers who lived in Punta Gorda and taught at the school house in Charlotte Harbor Town would cross the harbor on Monday and stay for the week with families of the students, returning to Punta Gorda on Friday.

Thus is the theme for this mural. The local mail boat is also shown along with the historic Punta Gorda Hotel in the background.

This mural was originally proposed by Todd Craig and Ronnie Winters who lived across the street from where the mural was originally located. The view from their home was of a large blank wall. They and many local friends, especially those who hung out at the late Sneaker’s Roadside Cafe at Cross Trail Shopping Center, collected funds to make the mural a reality.

The original mural was painted on the Mutual Capital Management Building, located at 212 W. Virginia Avenue, and was dedicated on April 8, 1997. Incidentally, Todd and Ron never got the chance to view the mural from their house. They sold their home and moved to another house a couple of blocks away before the mural was complete. The original mural was painted over by the new owner of the building when the building was sold in October 2008.

The mural was recreated by the original artist at Fisherman’s Village. The mural was rededicated on March 26, 2009.