Liberty, Tennessee: Mule on a Cliff

The story that we heard was that many years ago the creek flooded and someone in a boat painted the mule.

I have owned property next to the mule for over 25 years (I am 70). It is in Liberty, not Alexandria. Twenty years ago, an 80-plus-year-old man told me the mule had been there as long as anyone could remember (corroborated by two other 80-plus-year-olds). The mule never fades, and has never been redone. A real mystery. They did reroute the highway to accommodate the mule.

There is a painting of a mule on a cliff wall that's been there for a long time. It's at Alexandria if I remember correctly.

Two stories out there: 1) Around 1900, a doctor was a student and he painted it as a joke. It was supposed to be of "Maude the Mule," a popular cartoon of the time [first published in 1904]. The doctor took and blew up the outline of the mule on paper and then traced it on the wall. This is the current story that is believed true.

The other story, which I liked, was about a mule trader who lost his mule over the bluff and then painted it to the memory of the mule. It is at least 75-100 feet above the ground, not easy to paint. When the road was going through, people banded together and forced the state to move the road. The state built up the other side towards the creek so they would have enough room.

I remember it as a child when I lived close to Memphis. It was about a 6 hour drive at that time to this area and when I saw the mule I knew I was close to my grandmother's.

There is a picture of a running donkey painted on a rock near Smithville, Tennessee that has been there since 1951 and probably longer. The unusual thing is that it has been repainted regularly by someone who isn't afraid to climb up there. I have passed by there several times a year since I was in high school and I'm 64 now. Recently a roadside sign marks it's location in case someone fails to notice it. It is on highway 70, west of Smithville near Liberty.