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Madonna of the Trail

Madonna of the Trail - Ohio

Main Street
Springfield, OH 45504

The monument originally stood on Route 40 about .1 miles west of the the U.S. 68 interchange, on the grounds of the Masonic home. When a highway interchange for U.S. Routes 40 & 68 was built in 1956-57, the monument was moved to Snyder Park, about .25 miles to the east. In 2011, it was relocated to its present location.

This monument has the distinction of being the only Madonna not on the old National Old Trails Highway! Let me explain... The Madonnas were supposed to be placed on the shoulders of the National Old Trails Highway. In Springfield, that highway swung away from the National Road (Route 40) a few blocks to the east (on Dayton Avenue) and followed the so-called Dayton Cutoff. When the Madonna sat in its original location, it was about 15 blocks away from the highway where it was supposed to reside; today it sits about ten blocks away. In all of my research on the Madonnas, I've never been able to unearth why this Madonna wasn't placed on the National Old Trails Highway - all of the other Madonnas had that honor. The grounds of the Masonic home were certainly an attractive and easy place to park the statue. Or, perhaps, the DAR was unable to find any other location. When the Route 68 interchange was built the DAR for some reason elected not to correct their mistake (granted it is a slight error, but it is an error nontheless).

Important note: If you're attempting to see this monument, exercise great care as there is no nearby parking or pull-off. You'll need to park about a quarter of a mile to the east of the monument and walk along the north side of the road. There is no walkway nor is there even a shoulder. Of all of the Madonna monuments, this is the one that is the most dangerous to access.

The good news is that the monument was recently cleaned up and rededicated after years of neglect. It is too bad the monument wasn't relocated to a safer location or a pedestrian-friendly walkway added. The DAR's Pennsylvania House just a few blocks away on the original path of the National Road would have been an ideal place to move the monument. Downtown Springfield's new History Center would have been another logical choice. Either location would have corrected the DAR's geographical error and been back on the highway where it was supposed to reside. Oh well...

This monument was dedicated on July 4, 1928. The keynote speaker was then Judge Harry S Truman, President of the National Old Trails Association. The Springfield monument was the first of the twelve monuments to be dedicated.

Inscriptions are found on all four faces. The inscriptions read:

South Face: MADONNA OF THE TRAIL N.S.D.A.R. MEMORIAL TO THE PIONEER MOTHERS OF THE COVERED WAGON DAYS

East Face: THREE MILES SOUTHWEST OF HERE GENERAL GEORGE ROGERS CLARK COMMANDING KENTUCKY FRONTIERSMEN VANQUISHED THE SHAWNEE CONFEDERACY AUGUST 8, 1780 RESULTING IN OPENING THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

North Face: THE NATIONAL OLD TRAILS ROAD

West Face: THE NATIONAL ROAD COMPLETED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO THIS POINT IN 1839. FROM THIS POINT WESTWARD, BUILT BY THE STATES THROUGH WHICH IT PASSES.

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Posted by: Cindy on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 10:01:24 PM

This just in - The City of Springfield is planning to move the Maddonna to a location downtown. From today's paper: The plans for the wedge-shaped park call for it to eventually span from Buck Creek to the Heritage Center. The first phase under construction includes a block of mostly parking lots bounded by Main, Fisher and Columbia streets, as well as a new diagonal street on the west side. The tree-lined commons will feature a tiered grassy area and a plaza, as well as a pergola and fountains. The pink stone Madonna of the Trail statute will be relocated from near Snyder Park to National Road Commons, where McDorman said it will serve as a cornerstone to the downtown park. Note: this park is 'planned' not an actuality as yet.


Posted by: DennyG on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at 4:22:46 PM

Excellent news about the park. The current location is certainly awkward to get to. However, I do believe that it is on the route of the National Old Trails Road. The Dayton and Springfield Turnpike, as the eastern part of the "Dayton Cutoff", did indeed leave the National Road on Dayton Avenue. But that was around 1840. By the early twentieth century, when the NOTR was created, the road was somewhat improved all the way to Brandt and it was here, on Brandt Pike, that the NOTR turned toward Dayton. At least that is the path shown on a map in Judge J. M. Lowe's "The National Old Trails Road" published in 1924.


Posted by: JohnSwank on Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 11:12:01 PM

The Madonna of the Trails was moved to a location in downtown Springfield. This took place on September 21, 2011. This should make it more accessible since it was dangerous to try to get to it. Here is a link to the newspaper article about the move and some photos. http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-news/madonna-takes-her-place-in-downtowns-future-park-1257301.html



Feedback: Do you have corrections or contributions for this page? Want to make a suggestion? Click here to send me an e-mail. I am espcially interested in memories, stories, postcards and photographs. Thanks!

Frank

Last updated: 2013-12-02 10:51:15

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