Clay County Administration Building Murals

Located on the third floor of the Clay County Administration Building, a 28-foot x 8-foot mural depicts Clay County history. The left side of the mural shows Mah-hos-kah "Chief White Cloud," an Ioway Indian, and fur trader Pierre Chouteau. The middle section depicts Henry Routt leading the 1861 rain on the Liberty Arsenal. The right side of the mural shows the James Farm in 1875.

Another 8-foot by 6-foot mural honors 19th and 20th century African-American pioneers, businesses, churches and schools that contribute to the founding of four Clay County cities with vital African American population: Liberty, Excelsior Springs, North Kansas City and Missouri City.  The mural includes scenes connected to: White Oak Chapel and Cemetery from the 1836 Fountain Waller Plantation (in north Brighton area of Gladstone); First Baptist Church of Liberty (established in 1843); the first African American School in Missouri City (established in 1877) and Dr. Fred F. Ellet's Sulpho Saline Bath House and Swimming Pool (1880).

Artist: David McClain, 1993

Photo Gallery» 

Jesse James: The Man, The Outlaw, The Legend

Donated May 5, 2005 by the Clay County Fine Arts Council, this mural depicts Jesse and Zerelda James in front of several significant locations:

• Clay County Savings Bank/ Jesse James Bank Museum, Liberty, MO - Built in 1858. Site of the first daylight bank robbery during peacetime, attributed to the Jesse James Gang.
• Jesse James' First Grave - Mrs. Zerelda James-Samuels, mother of Jesse and Frank James at the grave of Jesse, outside the family farm home.
• James Farm Home, Kearny, MO - Birthplace of Jesse James.
• Jesse James Home, St. Joseph, MO - The house where he was shot and killed in 1882.

Jesse James, the man, the myth and the lore of one of the best known outlaws in the wild west and Missouri.