Mamaroneck Historical Society trying to save murals inside school that portray life and work of novelist James Fenimore Cooper
MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- The clock is ticking in Westchester County on an effort to salvage eight massive historic paintings that could be torn down or covered up.
On Tuesday, CBS2's Tony Aiello spoke with those trying to save the murals at Mamaroneck High School.
Mamaroneck is a community that takes pride in its history, especially its connection with early 19th century novelist James Fenimore Cooper.
"James Fenimore Cooper lived here. As a matter of fact, he was married right across the street in that white house," said John Pritts of the Mamaroneck Historical Society.
It's just down the street from Mamaroneck High School, where 80 years ago eight murals were placed in what was then the cafeteria, showing scenes from Cooper's life in Mamaroneck and episodes from his masterwork "The Leatherstocking Tales." Students in the 1930s and '40s raised the money and chose the artists who painted them.
"We believe we're making a new story of a community coming together to save them," said the historical society's Gail Boyle.
"April 1 is the date that they are going to be starting construction at the high school," Pritts added.
The school is building a new science and technology lab. The plan calls for tearing down two of the murals and hiding six others behind new walls. The district agreed to give them to the historical society if it can raise $175,000 to painstakingly remove and relocate them.
"So you've heard from local municipalities and they would make room for these?" Aiello asked.
"They're part of Mamaroneck. They're part our history. They're part of this community and what this community's all about," Pritts said.
The murals portray what some might consider a dated view of white settlers and Native Americans. The historical society wants to put them in context -- if it manages to save them.
"It's a bookmark in history. It's not supposed to represent what we think and feel today. It represents where we came from," Boyle said.
The historical society only has a few weeks to raise the money to ensure a future for these paintings from the past. It has raised only about 25 percent of its goal, but the co-presidents say interest in the effort is strong, and they're increasingly confident the goal will be met.
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