The Madonna Of The Trails, Bethesda, MD

An image of The Madonna Of The Trails landmark statue in Bethesda, MD is the seventh image for the Days Of Yore: Montgomery County, MD project.

NSDAR Memorial: Madonna Of The Trails, Bethesda, MD

Save to foursquare Right in between the US Post Office in Bethesda, MD and a large hotel, the Madonna Of The Trails statue stands.  It is one of the twelve memorial markers from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  The title reads, "NSDAR Memorial: Pioneer Women - Covered Wagon Days".  

Sculpted by Auguste Leimbach and dedicated in 1929, one side describes, "This The First Military Road in America Beginning at Rock Creek and Potomac River Georgetown Maryland Leading Our Pioneers Across The Continent to the Pacific."

This and the other eleven memorial markers are placed through-out the United States, along the Old National Trails Road, starting in Bethesda, MD and ending in Upland, CA.

Neat!

The artist was stunned to see, right here in Bethesda, in Montgomery County, stands one of twelve memorial statues peppered across the United States.  The set of statues marked the Ocean-To-Ocean Highway, also known as the National Old Trails Road.  According to the Wikipedia site on the National Old Trails Road, it was a combination of many Native American trails, the Santa Fe Trail, the National Road, and those routes, which we now know of as US Route 40 and US Route 66.  Even better, these monuments were put in place on behalf of the Pioneer Women!  

Don't miss the prickly-pear plant, a native plant to the Americas, at the feet of the Pioneer Mother and her child.

To Visit: Next to the US Post Office on Wisconsin Avenue and East-West Highway.

(approximate address: 7464 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814)

National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution
US Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration
US Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration History