The Adams County Arts Council (ACAC) and Gettysburg History will dedicate a new large-scale mural on the exterior of Beyond the Battle Museum on Saturday, October 24 at 3:00 p.m. The public dedication ceremony will celebrate the completion of the artwork, created by Littlestown-born artist Sarah Jacobs in collaboration with Adams County community members as part of the America250PA commemoration. This event is free and open to the public to join in celebrating this new work of public art.
The mural draws on personal stories, memories, and hopes for the future shared by local residents through community workshops and conversations that began in 2025. Jacobs wove these voices into a single visual narrative for the museum’s exterior wall, exploring the county’s history alongside its present and future.
“I love that public murals are democratic in that they aren’t cloistered away in someone’s living room or art storage unit,” Jacobs said. “I feel very lucky to be able to make them as an offering to the community.”
The mural was painted by Jacobs inside the museum’s on-site barn and off-site at her home studio over the course of four months on polytab, a specialized fabric designed for murals, before being adhered to a wall installation completed by L&H Mechanical Services. This technique allows large-scale murals to be created away from the elements and installed quickly once complete.
This mural is one of three being completed in October as part of ACAC’s Creative Placemaking Initiative, which aims to expand public art throughout Adams County. These installations will engage residents of all ages and backgrounds in creating public art, strengthening neighborhoods, and supporting community wellbeing. The murals will attract visitors, supporting the local economy while sharing the stories of Adams County’s people beyond its Civil War history. One of the additional murals, created in partnerships with the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, will replace the existing mural on the side of Dollar General in Gettysburg and be completed by muralist Ophelia Chambliss. The other, at ACAC’s Arts Education Center, was created by muralist Spencer Dofflemyer with contributions from summer campers.
This mural and other ACAC public art installations in Adams County have been supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Our Town Grant, the Pennsylvania Creative Industries Creative Communities Grant, the Robert C. Hoffman Charitable Endowment Trust, the J. William Warehime Foundation, and generous benefactors including David and Pauline LeVan, David and Cynthia Salisbury, David and Ellen Sites, and Sharon Magraw.
About the Artist
Sarah Jacobs is a contemporary magical realist artist represented by Fremin Gallery in New York City and ZYNKA Gallery in Pittsburgh, and who exhibits with Ferrara Showman Gallery in New Orleans. Raised in Littlestown, Pennsylvania, she studied art history at Gettysburg College and earned her MFA in 2010 from the Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, where she studied under Joyce Kozloff and Timothy App.
In addition to public murals, Jacobs maintains an active studio practice in oil, digital collage, molding paste, assemblage, and gold leaf, exploring themes of separation and interconnectedness through a Baroque-inspired, maximalist visual language. Her solo exhibition of multimedia canvas paintings, “Magical Realism,” is on view at the Majestic Theater’s Gallery in Gettysburg through November 3.
About Gettysburg History
Since 1888, Gettysburg History has served as the nation’s leading authority on the history of Gettysburg and Adams County, protecting unparalleled collections and historic sites that resonate with millions of Americans. The nonprofit organization operates Beyond the Battle Museum and the Shriver House Museum and preserves more than one million historic items in its archives. Through immersive exhibits, guided tours, educational programs, special events, and digital resources, Gettysburg History preserves and shares the people, places, and stories that shaped this historic community. In doing so, it ensures that the lessons forged here encourage reflection, strengthen civic unity, and help guide America into the future.
About the Adams County Arts Council
The mission of the Adams County Arts Council (ACAC) is to cultivate an arts-rich community throughout Adams County, Pennsylvania, guided by the core values of creativity, community, and connection. Founded in 1994, ACAC provides classes in the fine and performing arts, and grant programs, and partners with education, arts, health, and social service organizations to bring high-quality arts opportunities to areas often underserved by the arts. For more information about ACAC and its upcoming classes, events, and programs, visit adamsarts.org.
Photo Caption: Local artist Sarah Jacobs was commissioned by ACAC and Gettysburg History to create a mural for the Beyond the Battle Museum, commemorating Adams County for America250PA.