What Is the Madonna of the Trail – New Mexico?
This is one of 12 Madonna of the Trail statues spread across the US!
What Makes It Historical?
In the early 20th Century, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) launched a movement to commemorate trails across America, from the Santa Fe Trail to the Oregon Trail to the National Old Trails Road, stretching 3,095 miles from Washington, DC, to Los Angeles! The D.A.R. wanted commemorative markers along this route, and in the late 1920s, D.A.R. leader, Arlene Moss, landed on the idea of Madonna of the Trail monuments!
She wanted to base these monuments on a statue of Sacagawea in Portland, so in 1927, the D.A.R. launched a design competition for statues. They chose a winner on September 27, 1927: August Leimbach, whose design told the story of a woman taking her children out to look for their missing father in the Wild West! The first completed Madonna of the Trail was dedicated in Springfield, Ohio on July 4, 1928!
Originally, New Mexico’s Madonna was supposed to go in Santa Fe at the end of the Santa Fe Trail, but that plan didn’t stick. The locals thought it clashed with the architecture, and the Albuquerque D.A.R. chapter had more money! New Mexico’s Madonna of the Trail went up on September 27, 1928, exactly one year after the design was finalized, in a ceremony of about 500 folks! It was one of New Mexico’s earliest public memorial sculptures!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Become a member of the Albuquerque Historical Society!
- Become a member of the D.A.R., Albuquerque Chapter!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
323 Marble Ave NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Whenever the mood strikes you!
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