Terre Haute House Mural Restored by History Center, Local Artist

Vigo County, Indiana -   Just in time for the holiday season, the Vigo County History Center is offering a unique and exclusive gift featuring Terre Haute history. 

The mural, once displayed in the Mayflower Room of the iconic Terre Haute House hotel, has been digitally recreated by award winning artist Becky Hochhalter. Accompanying each framed work is a portion of the salvaged and restored mural. 

“Combining the generosity and vision of Greg Gibson, and Becky Hochhalter’s genius, artistic skill to preserve the integrity of the original artist’s work …these two are responsible for the masterful creation that not only brings back memories of the world-renowned Terre Haute House and its Mayflower Room, but allows buyers to actually own a piece of the history,”   says Vigo County History Center Executive Director Marla Flowers. “Becky’s ability to restore the salvaged mural and include it in this piece is nothing short of amazing!”

The original Mayflower Room Mural was painted by renowned Hungarian painter Miklos Gaspar in 1936, which depicted the Mayflower ship, early settlers and Native Americans. While the preservation of the Mayflower Room mural for its historical and artistic value is important to the history of Terre Haute, the Vigo County History Center acknowledges that the stereotypical imagery, which was widely accepted in the early 20th century, is not an accurate representation of indigenous people. 

Three additional large pieces of the mural will be displayed in the future. The remaining portions are being utilized for these works of art.

“As a muralist, having the opportunity to not only digitally recreate the Mayflower Room mural, but also to clean and preserve Miklos Gaspar's original work was very meaningful to me,” Hochhalter says. “As a member of the board of the Vigo County History Center I am also thrilled to have the ability to bring back a cherished piece of Terre Haute and Vigo County history.”

All proceeds from the sale of the framed artwork will be donated to the History Center to continue its mission of preserving and promoting Vigo County’s rich history. Each of the works are different and truly one of a kind. They are also limited. Hochhalter created only 25 works at the “Gold Level” for $499. Additional works are available at “Silver Level” for $449 and “Bronze” at $399.