Lincoln commemoration on Madonna of the Trail Statue - Vandalia, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 38° 57.648 W 089° 05.674
16S E 318518 N 4314512
Inscription - "At Vandalia, Abraham Lincoln, member of Illinois Legislature, first formulated those high principles of freedom and justice which gave the slaves a liberator, the Union a savior."
Waymark Code: WMCTNH
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 10/11/2011
Views: 8
The inscription is on the side of the base of the Madonna of the Trail statue, 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.
Given that this quote is about Lincoln's activities in Vandalia and unrelated to the Cumberland Road, I'll bet this inscription was added as an afterthought. Click the Nearby Waymarks button for a plethora of additional markers and sites in town that explain further what Lincoln did here.
Vandalia is an Illinois history buff's dream location - lots to see, do and learn about.
Location Type: Historic Marker
Property Type: Public
Date of Event: late 1830s
Location Notes:
Located on side of base of the statue at S. 4th Street & W. Gallatin Avenue, corner of Old State Capitol, Vandalia, Illinois 62471
URL for Additional Information: [Web Link]
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