Madonna of the Trail - Vandalia, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 38° 57.648 W 089° 05.676
16S E 318516 N 4314512
A depiction of a woman in pioneer clothing, with long, shin-length dress, laced boots, a sunbonnet with flowers, and a scarf tied around her neck.
Waymark Code: WMCTN5
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 10/11/2011
Views: 9
Continued from the Smithsonian database:
"In the crook of her proper left arm she holds an infant wearing a short-sleeved shirt and lightly wrapped in a blanket. In her proper right hand is the top of the barrel of a rifle, the butt of which rests on the ground at her side. She appears to be using the rifle as a walking stick. She steps forward on her proper left leg. On her proper right is a small boy, walking while holding the fabric of his mother's dress. He wears a short-sleeved shirt, knee pants, suspenders, and calf-high boots. On the plinth at the figures' feet is a bed of prickly pear cactus and large leaves. The sculpture rests on a square base.
Dimensions: Sculpture: approx. H. 10 ft.; Base: approx. H. 8 ft. (Sculpture: 5 tons; Base: 12 tons).
Inscription: (Base front:) MADONNA OF THE TRAIL/(DAR seal)/N.S.D.A.R. MEMORIAL/TO THE/PIONEER MOTHERS/OF THE/COVERED WAGON DAYS (Base proper left:) "THE CUMBERLAND ROAD/BUILT BY/THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT/WAS AUTHORIZED BY CONGRESS/AND APPROVED BY/THOMAS JEFFERSON IN 1806/VANDALIA MARKS THE/WESTERN TERMINUS."
The statue is one of 12 similar monuments erected in each of 12 states through which the National Old Trails Road or Cumberland Road, passes. The Cumberland Road was the first highway built by the Federal Government. It was begun in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, and completed to, the then capital of Illinois, Vandalia, in 1838. The statue was donated in 1928 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, The statue cost 1,000 dollars. Inscription on a nearby plaque reads: "MADONNA OF THE TRAIL"/a gift to the City of Vandalia, 1928/Mrs. William Sweeney, State Regent/Restored 1990/Mrs. Virgil V. Clary, State Regent/Illinois State Organization NSDAR."
Vandalia is an Illinois history buff's dream location - lots to see, do and learn about.
TITLE: Madonna of the Trail
ARTIST(S): Leimbach, Auguste, 1882-1965, sculptor
DATE: 1927.; Dedicated Oct. 26, 1928.
MEDIUM: Sculpture: algonite; Base: algonite.
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS IL000413
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Located at S. 4th Street & W. Gallatin Avenue, corner of Old State Capitol, Vandalia, Illinois 62471
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
db says location is at Main St. - this should read Gallatin Street
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