After my Our Town Vienna: A Blank Wall and an Open Invitation story was published, I found myself still thinking about the mural that once stretched across the wall of Vienna’s community building — a story I realized I didn’t yet fully know – especially since I could not find any signature. How did such a beautiful set of paintings come to be on that wall? Who put them there? Who moved them to where they are now?
So I went looking for the story behind the story. At first, artificial intelligence told me that the mural was created by unnamed, unknown community contributors, but I knew better. Following links provided to artists who had done other murals in the area, I soon found my answer.
Two interviews later — one with the artist who painted the mural, Michael Rosato, and one with the idea’s originator, Amanda Fenstermaker, I discovered that the Vienna mural wasn’t just public art. It was part of a national, state, and local trail system intended to connect communities through art. Vienna was once squarely on these maps – but now sometimes with a caveat: “This mural is currently being relocated. Stay tuned!”
While the mural was never given an official name, it came to be known in different circles as “Chesapeake Epic” or “Vienna Epic”. This is Epic’s journey so far – and why remembering matters.
How a Mural Trail Found Vienna
Around 2014, Dorchester County had an unusual opportunity: $100,000 in leftover Federal Highway Administration funds from the Maryland Scenic Byways Program — a federal initiative designed to connect communities through landscape, heritage, and public art. The money had originally been earmarked for a mural trail in the Upper Shore counties. Amanda Fenstermaker, then Dorchester County’s Tourism Director, immediately saw an opportunity.
Inspired by the 2009 Friends of the John Smith Trail Report outlining an ambitious plan for conserving the Chesapeake’s “treasured landscapes”, Fenstermaker imagined a series of large-scale art placed on “high profile, high visibility, empty, ugly walls” across Dorchester County. Her hope was to increase visitors to the “more far-flung areas of the county”, beyond just the county seat of Cambridge.
In Vienna, the large empty wall of the Edwin Murphy Community Building, long owned by the Volunteer Fire Company, fit the bill. The project went out for competitive bid. Cambridge muralist Michael Rosato won.
Five sets of murals, all painted by Rosato, formed the original Chesapeake Country Mural Trail:
- Goose on the Caboose
- Big Bird
- Vienna Epic
- Two East New Market Crossroads murals
- Reflections on Pine Street
Since then, the trail has grown to include other works by Rosato, including Ode to Watermen, the Hurlock Train Heritage mural, and the world-famous Take My Hand mural depicting Harriet Tubman.
How the Vienna Epic Came to Life
Rosato walked me through the process.
1. It began with a blank wall.
Rosato recalls drawing his inspiration for Vienna from James Michener’s epic novel Chesapeake. The wall’s length allowed him to treat it like a narrative scroll — a visual epic in its own right. “The wall in Vienna was so long, it was perfect for telling the whole story…Vienna had ALL the stories in there. From the Native American to the watermen…It was really great there. That was the impetus for the beginning of that mural process.”
The north-facing wall of Vienna’s community building had four fixed windows. Rosato sketched five scenes, with a continuous horizon line, to fit around the windows, depicting the chronological progression from Native Americans to explorers to shipbuilders to politicians to watermen– opting to focus on “the longevity of this town and the history of the peoples that inhabited it”.
3. The mural was painted on cement panels inside the artist’s studio.
Each completed panel weighed about 90 pounds. (Rosato now uses lighter aluminum composite panels.) The mural came to life indoors before ever touching Vienna’s wall.
4. Installation transformed the building.
Once mounted on the wall, the mural turned the community building into a landmark — a visual anchor for Vienna’s place in the Chesapeake story. The north wall, facing away from the river, offered the mural some protection from the harsh sun and the marine environment – both of which can seriously damage outdoor artwork.
And yet…there was no community dedication.
Neither Fenstermaker nor Rosato recalls a ribbon-cutting, celebration, or unveiling. The mural simply appeared — and perhaps because of that, it never fully entered Vienna’s collective memory.
How the Mural Was Saved
In 2022, the Town began exploring a Department of Natural Resources water-improvement grant to purchase and demolish the community building for overflow parking. The Town received $155,000 six months later from the Rural Maryland Economic Development Fund, purchased the building, and was informed that a parking lot would need to meet critical-area requirements for permeability.
Word reached Fenstermaker that demolition of the community building was forthcoming, so she acted. With a small, town-approved mini-grant, she and Rosato arranged for the mural’s removal and relocation. But there were some sacrifices. The small portions of the mural above and below the windows were cut off, with their whereabouts currently unknown. It is suspected that Rosato’s signature may be on one of those pieces.
Where the Mural Panels Are Now in Vienna
- Nanticoke Discovery Center (panels 1, 2, 3, and 5) 113 Old Ocean Gateway
- Vienna Town Hall (panel 4, the least “water-focused”) 214 Market Street
- Edwin Murphy Community Building (former location, now a blank wall) 104 Race Street
Why This Matters Now
Vienna is once again at a crossroads. Residents are becoming more engaged in grant-funded opportunities to revitalize the town — including the Entrance Park, the Waterfront, and potentially even the community building itself.
And yet, the Vienna Epic mural sits quietly in two buildings at opposite ends of town, disconnected from the very trails that it should be a part of:
- National Park Service: Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
- State of Maryland: Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway
- Dorchester County Tourism: Dorchester Mural Trail
Reconnecting Vienna Epic, in its current form, very clearly to these trails is not just housekeeping. It is identity. It is belonging. The mural was born of national, state, and local trail systems — and Vienna’s story is strongest when those systems remain connected.
When communities forget how they fit into larger stories, they lose more than murals. They lose their heritage – and their direction.
Lessons Learned: How Communities Remember
- We remember by reconstructing history. The Vienna Epic is part of our story — and deserves to be recognized as such.
- Repurposing can be more powerful than demolishing. The community building, and other sites in town, may yet have a future as a place for gathering, storytelling, and honoring Vienna’s past.
- It’s easier to stay connected than to reconnect later. Vienna was once firmly on the map. It can be again.
- New projects should build on decades of heritage investment. The Entrance Park renovation should incorporate the mural trail’s vision.
- August 29 is an opportunity. During the upcoming Battle of Vienna commemoration, the Captain John Smith Nanticoke River Discovery Center — now home to four mural panels — should be showcased as part of all three trails – encouraging a side trip to Town Hall to see the remaining panel.
A Visit to the Artist’s Studio
Before I left Rosato, he offered one more glimpse into the story — the place where Vienna’s mural, and so many others, first came to life. As our interview wrapped up, Rosato invited me to photograph his studio — a place where murals for communities around the world begin as sketches on a wall.
We are fortunate in Dorchester County to have such a talent among us. And in Vienna, we are fortunate to have a mural that can inspire where we go next — if we choose to let it.
Looking Ahead: Your Invitation
Vienna’s future is being shaped right now. Residents are invited to participate in the next Entrance Park Working Group meeting on Monday July 20th at 7pm at Town Hall, continuing the conversation begun on June 30. Catch up on activities so far by visiting the ViennaRadio.com blog.
And when Vienna’s community radio station goes live in a few months, tune in to WVCI-LP Vienna (at 92.9 FM within the Vienna listening area) to hear my full interview with Michael Rosato.
Vienna’s story is still being written. The murals remind us that we are part of something larger — a trail, a history, a community worth remembering. If we choose to let them, they can help guide where we go next.
A native Hoosier, Kathryn Masten, Ph.D., is a community informatics scholar who has spent her career helping small communities use information, technology, and local networks to address real‑world problems. She and her husband, Randy Cain, relocated to Vienna in 2021 from Ingleside on the Bay, Texas, a once‑quiet coastal village now surrounded by petrochemical expansion. Kathryn is President of the Community Informatics Institute, home of the Dorchester Connect initiative and the forthcoming low‑power FM radio station in Vienna. As advocates of renewable energy, she and Randy are currently transforming a former sailing catamaran into a fully solar‑electric “smart boat.”
