By J. Bruce Steinhard, WM – Kilwinning Lodge #356, Cincinnati, OH
I never imagined a simple trip to Western Pennsylvania in 2012 would have provided me with insight to a generally unknown piece of Masonic history. As I later tried to tell a friend about a statue that I found along the National Highway on this trip, I had trouble finding the location on Google Maps.
During the original trip we were on our way to Camp Jumonville in Hopwood, PA when we discovered the statue, otherwise called “The Madonna of the Trail.”
During my later search for this gem, I began to find out more than I ever thought possible about this statue. It is one of 12 along the National Road, or US Route 40.
“In 1911 the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) set out to mark the ‘Old Trails Road’ stretching from Maryland to California,” Brother Harry S. Truman states at the first dedication in 1928. The DAR chairwoman was inspired by other statues and the need to honor the women who had walked along the trail. “But the exclusively white DAR, operating amid increased xenophobia and anxiety over new public roles for women in the 1920s, embraced an explicitly white pioneer mother. Like other statues erected during the ‘Pioneer Mother Movement’ of late 1920s and 1930s, the DAR statues balanced women’s strength with softer maternal symbolism.”
All of the statues were supposed to face west in order to symbolize the Westward movement of the American people to California at that time. However, the sculptor preferred them to face south to provide the best view. Given this difference, only four face west, six face south, one east and one north.
The statues are made of “Algonite,” a form of cast stone produced from a mixture of crushed marble, Missouri granite, stone, cement, and lead ore. This material was more cost effective, but it was also less durable than bronze or marble. Most of the Madonna statues have been restored at least once. Because these were local restoration efforts done at different times and utilizing different methods, the resulting appearance of the statues, particularly the color, differed noticeably.
That being said, the statue in Ohio was originally on the grounds of the Springfield Masonic Community. In 1956 the Springfield Madonna was moved aside a quarter-mile to make space for a new highway interchange. In 2011 it was moved again, this time two miles east into the city center, where it became the centerpiece of a new downtown connector park.
Information taken from:
pioneermonuments.net/highlighted-monuments/madonna-of-the-trail/
See also:
exploreroute40.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/mile-302-madonna-of-the-trail-ohio-springfield-ohio/
