Pioneer Woman - Lexington, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 11.197 W 093° 53.177
15S E 423456 N 4337860
Statue of a pioneering woman also known as the "Madonna of the Trail" in Lexington, Missouri.
Waymark Code: WMNP4E
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 04/12/2015
Views: 3
County of marker: Lafayette County
Location of marker: Northeast corner of Highland Avenue & MO 224, Lexington
Marker erected by: Lafayette-Lexington Chapter, NSDAR and Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Date marker erected: May 06, 2006
Marker text:
Madonna of the Trail Monument The "Madonna of the Trail" statue was designed and sculpted by August Leimbach of St. Louis. The statue was unveiled and dedicated on September 17, 1928 by the Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revolution in memory of the brave pioneer women who helped settle the West. Keynote speaker was then Jackson County Judge (future U.S. President) Harry Truman. The state is one of 12 placed in every state crossed by the national Old Trails Road, the main cross route of early settlers from the East to California. This site is located in the Highland Avenue Historic District next to the Old Trails Road scenic byway Route 224 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
On August 23, 2003 a ceremony in celebration of the statue's 75th anniversary was held. Guest speaker was U.S. Congressman Ike Skelton.
Monument Text:
(Front ~ West):
Madonna Of The Trail
N.S.D.A.R. Memorial
To The
Pioneer Mother
Of The
Covered Wagon Days
(Back ~ East):
The National
Old Trails Road
(South Side):
Lexington
Settled 1820 By
Virginia And Kentucky
Pioneers.
Early Terminus Of
River Transportation,
Starting Point Of The
Western Trail Of The
Pack Pony And Ox Cart.
(North side):
John, James, and Robert Aull
Russell, Majors & Waddell
Doniphan
Pioneers - Traders
Soldiers - Citizens
Of Lexington
Who Gave Valiant Service
To The Winning Of The West
"In 1911, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) established a national committee known as the National Old Trails Road Committee. It worked to establish the Old Trails Road as a great National Memorial Highway. In 1912 the National Old Trails Road Association was organized, and the roadway became known as the National Old Trails Road. The group wanted to recognize the contributions of women with a statue to be erected in each of the twelve states connected by the National Road. The committee chair, Judge (and future U.S. president) Harry S. Truman, guaranteed the expense of the erection of the monuments. A design was completed in 1927.
"They [the women] were just as brave or braver than their men because, in many cases, they went with sad
hearts and trembling bodies. They went, however, and endured every hardship that befalls a pioneer."
Harry S. Truman at the Ohio dedication ceremony
Truman, at that time the President of the National Old Trails Association, attended the dedication in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on September 27, 1928, of its statue. This monument was re-dedicated 44 years later on September 27, 1972." ~ Wikipedia