When it comes to history, America's preparing to celebrate its 250th anniversary.

Mecklenburg County residents hit that milestone back in May.

This summer, Mecklenburg Park and Recreation teamed up with Charlotte is Creative to commission a local artist for a special mural in Independence Park.

Producer John Branscum shares the details with us.

(screen whooshing) (bright music) - It's gonna be hot out here today.

I get a lot of requests for Charlotte related things, skylines and like South End stuff.

So this was a nice change of pace.

So I'm just buffing in my background color over top of the one I didn't care for.

We're trying to create something that's kind of celebrated historic Charlotte, like true historic Charlotte.

Trying to fill all of these holes.

The texture on this is pretty gnarly.

In collaboration with Parks and Rec, and assisted by a Charlotte is Creative, they reached out to me to create a piece that would celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

I'll have to get my actual ladder out here before it's over and do the tippy top.

One of the more research heavy projects I've done, this is just exterior latex paint, like you would paint your house with.

But I primed it with a concrete primer sealer that will help keep the moisture from coming through.

I had heard of the Meck Dec before, but honestly didn't know anything about it.

I grew up in South Carolina schools, so we didn't learn about this part.

Did like a nod to farming, the Alexander home site, then we move on to the wagon wheel, which is kind of a tribute to Trade and Tryon/the Great Wagon Road, that would've been major trade routes coming through here at the time.

And then you have Captain Jack, a nod to the statue, and the gentleman that took the document.

Everyone knows the hornet's nest, that's the easy one.

And the hand signing the document.

Just a tribute to the day we're celebrating.

On this side, we have First in Freedom, we'll go in, and then the date, May 20th.

And then on this side Independence is a tribute to the park and hornet's nest of rebellion.

I've had several people come through already and just gimme comments about like, "Thank you for contributing and beautifying the park," and just sharing my talent.

So I'm glad people appreciate it like that.

- It's super cool 'cause we have a diverse city now.

I think when people move here, a lot of people don't know Charlotte history, right?

Having something like this where they can kind of turn and be like, "Okay, what is that?"

Hopefully they Google it and look more into the history and the celebration of the 250th.

(bright music) - My brain just kind of goes on autopilot after I get it drawn out like this.

I mean, I'm just cooking now.

It's kind of a game, because I'm trying to fill all these holes with one stroke.

This is obviously something that is part of Charlotte's history.

It's something people talk about.

250 years, it's something to be celebrated so that it doesn't fade.

- [Crowd] Freedom!

(crowd applauding) - Even if people come by here and don't know what the Meck Dec is, maybe it gives them something to look into, research about.

I had a couple conversations with people that were like, "Oh, I didn't know about this.

I'm from out of town, or I just moved here, I'll have to research this, whatever."

So I think it's a good just commemorative piece and hopefully it gets people thinking.

(bright music) Sign painting in general is just kind of executing on either someone else's logo or lettering.

It's rather templated and structured.

And then the pieces like this that I do, that gets to be like my artwork, way more fluid.

I think public art is important for the community to kind of come around, have something to be proud of, of their city.

It creates culture.

I think Charlotte is really being supportive of public art.

Hopefully it makes people think a little bit about what we're celebrating, and just give people something to pause and be proud of as Charlotteans, or people who are learning about the history of Charlotte.

(bright music) It's like super rewarding.

Like not many people get to have something that's in such public view and to be proud of.

And people could reference this like, that's such a compliment to me.