Main Street
Springfield, OH 45504The 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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