“Pioneer Steam Engine” (1997)
Muralist: Dave Barnum
Location: W. 2nd Street (Parking lot between Locust & Avenue – Just south of CGH Ready Care)
You can almost hear it—the whistle, the rumble, the anticipation.
When the first train arrived in Sterling on July 22, 1855, it wasn’t just transportation—it was transformation. Crowds gathered. The town celebrated. A new era had arrived.
Railroads connected Sterling to the wider world, opening the door for trade, travel, and growth on a scale never seen before.
This mural captures that moment of arrival—the instant when everything began to move faster.
