A new symbol of “Wildcat Country” now greets drivers along Augusta Highway.

A mural emblazoned on the newly built water tower from the Lexington County’s Joint Municipal Water and Sewer Commission celebrates Lexington High School, Lake Murray and local farm land.

“This [tower] was something special because of the location,” said Jay Nicholson, the commission’s general manager and CEO. “We don’t have an opportunity to do this often.”

The mural on the new water tower near Lexington High was spearheaded by Allan Anderson, an art teacher at the school, who created the design on his computer. 

The mural features a large Wildcat head (Lexington High’s mascot) nestled between a planted field and waters meant to represent Lake Murray, with the phrase "Wildcat Country" letting passersby know where they are.

Nicholson said it was important to involve the community in the design. The effort included Lexington Mayor Steve MacDougall (the chair of the Water and Sewer Commission) and input surveyed from Lexington High students and staff.

Construction on the tower, which Nicholson explained was made necessary due to growth in the area, began more than a year ago. 

Nicholson and Anderson began talking and decided they wanted to do something different with the look of the upgraded water tower.  After approaching the school and Principal Ryan Pool, surveys were sent out to students and staff to get their thoughts.

“He surveyed the school for concepts and overwhelmingly they wanted something to do with farming and Lake Murray,” Nicholson said of Anderson. “Then he went to work.”

“Allan finalized all the colors and he just did a phenomenal job figuring out everything. It turned out better in my opinion,” Nicholson said. 

As for painting the mural on the tower, Anderson and MacDougall were able to paint portions while hoisted up about 200 feet in the air, but the majority was painted by crew members for the Water and Sewer Commission due to liability reasons. 

It only took a week to paint the mural on the tower, Nicholson, said.

“We always consider ourselves a central symbol of what Lexington is and we take a lot of pride and responsibility in serving a symbol for community,” Principal Pool said. “The water tower affirms that for us. The pride we felt also is felt by the local municipalities and community.”.

“We talk a lot about being a flagship school so the water tower is a great representation of that. It reminds us of our responsibility and opportunity to influence [everyone],” he continued. 

After the artwork on the tower was completed, the Water and Sewer Commission expressed their thanks by donating funds to purchase iPads for art classes at Lexington High School and the Lexington Technology Center. 

As far as its function, the new tower, located across Augusta Highway/U.S. Highway 1 from Lexington High and the Lexington Technology Center behind Lowes Foods, replaces an older one along U.S. Highway 378 close to an old Piggly Wiggly. 

“The 378 tank will eventually be decommissioned and we’ll try and look at how to use it elsewhere,” Nicholson said, adding that the old tank was built more than 20 years ago and held about 500,000 gallons of water with a pressure that was too low.