Madonnas of the Trail

This is a short video about the Madonnas of the Trail. The music that accompanies the video is by THE TRAIL BAND and was written my Marv Ross and sung by Rindy Ross. This video is a tribute to the 12 Madonnas that the DAR placed around the country marking the Santa Fe Trail and the Old National Road as well as other major gate ways to the west. The project was started in 1909 by members of the Missouri DAR and then in 1911 the DAR started a campaing to honor pioneer women. It had to be put off for several years because of WW1 but finally in 1928 and 1929 they were able to finally install them. The statues were created by LEIMBACH, a German sculptor but a DAR member designed them. They are all identical, each weighing 5 tons and standing 10 feet tall.