Corey Baughman wanted a realistic-looking bison.

He also wanted an image of Fort Vallonia painted on one side. Then when it was decided to display the bison in a more prominent location, the other side needed some type of image.

The first person he thought of to paint the bison was fellow Vallonia native Max Koop.

Spending about 25 hours over a month’s period, Koop finished painting the 5-foot-tall, 6-foot-wide fiberglass bison.

It now sits along Main Street in the heart of Jackson County’s oldest community for people to see.

It was completed in time for the 48th annual Fort Vallonia Days this past weekend, where hundreds of people saw it and took pictures of it.

“I think it looks awesome. It fits perfect down here,” Koop said. “I have had compliments all day on it. I’ve been posting pictures on Facebook off and on as I did it, too. They said it looked really awesome, they thought it fit well in the community, and said I had done a great job and it looked real.”

The bison is one of six the county received as part of the Bison-tennial Public Art Project. Jackson County United Way partnered with the Indiana Bicentennial Commission and Indiana Association of United Ways in this celebration of the state’s bicentennial.

Read the full story in Friday’s Tribune and online at tribtown.com.