Pioneer Monuments on Interstate 35 Travel Corridor
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Description
Settler-themed public monuments stretching from Texas to Minnesota along I-35
1. Pioneer Woman statue
This Pioneer Woman was created for the 1958 centennial of Minnesota statehood. Although sculpted from modern fiberglass, it closely resembles bronze pioneer mother monuments from the 1920s. It has become a familiar landmark on the Minnesota state fairgrounds.
2. The Pioneers
Granite monument carved by local Norwegian-born sculptor John K. Daniels. Erected as part of a 1930s efforts to replace skid row with an elaborate City Center, this statue was placed in the newly formed Pioneers Park, near the new art deco Post Office. Relocated to Northeast Minneapolis in 1961 amid new urban renewal efforts. It remained on a small traffic island until 2008, when it was moved 100 yards to a newly formed BF Nelson Park. In 2020, amid a growing Black Lives Matter protest movement following the police killing of George Floyd nearby, protesters splashed the monument with red paint and spray-painted anti-colonial slogans onto it.Screen reader support enabled.
3. Life Sketches Mural (1976)
This mural was created for the US Bicentennial in 1976. The New Ulm Business District and Southwest Minnesota State College commissioned artist Gordon Dingman to create a mural depicting frontier life in New Ulm. But Dingman's work was inspired by the 1973 violent showdown between Native American activists and federal officials at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Dingman sought to depict peaceful coexistence between German immigrants, white American settlers, and Native peoples prior to the US-Dakota War of 1862 (widely known as the Great Sioux Uprising).
4. Delavan Pioneers statue
Sculpture also known as Land is Our Heritage. Sculpted by Minnesota artist and "Renaissance Man" George Bassett. Installed to mark the Delavan, Minnesota, town centennial in 1977. It is similar to other town and county centennial monuments erected in the 1970s-1990s in the Upper Midwest and Great Plains.
5. Promise of America Statue
Dedicated in 1995, the Promise of America statue (also known as the Norwegian-American Immigrant Family Monument) was commissioned by the Norwegian-American Immigrant Family Monument Commission of Lake Mills and stands on a section of restored prairie. The statue depicts Norwegian immigrants to the Upper Midwest in the second half of the 19th century, portraying them as both New Americans and American pioneers.
6. Madonna of the Prairie statue
Sculpture by longtime Iowa State University faculty member Christian Petersen. Following the artist's death it was installed on the Ames campus. The title suggests it depicts a frontier settler and her child. But the sculpture more closely resembles Renaissance-era representations of the Virgin Mary than it does other 20th-century pioneer mother monuments.
7. Mormon Handcart Pioneers Statue
The Mormon Historic Site Foundation dedicated this bronze monument in 2006 to commemorate Mormon converts who camped in nearby Coralville while building the handcarts they later pushed and pulled across the Plains to Utah in 1856. The statue is a reproduction of a popular monument in Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. The dedication ceremony coincided with the opening of an exhibit on Mormon history at the nearby museum operated by the Johnson County Historical Society.
8. Mormon Handcart Brigade Camp Marker
Historical marker including text and bas relief sculpture telling the history of the Mormon Handcart Brigade. Converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encamped near here to construct handcarts to carry their belongings on the overland journey from Iowa to Utah.
9. Pioneer Statuary Group
Karl Gerhardt’s Pioneer Statuary Group features a white pioneer man, his adolescent son, and an Indian man gazing out over the Iowa lands the white men intend to settle. Although all three men wear fringed buckskin, differences in their attire, tools and positioning indicate that the indigenous man has yielded his native lands to the white settlers. The bearded pioneer father and his son wear the long European-style coats and hairstyles that late-19th-century white Americans associated with Western civilization, while the fringed buckskin declares their ability to conquer untamed lands. In contrast, the Indian’s bare torso, shaved face and long braids indicate his savagery.
10. Handcart Pioneer Monument
Inspired by a beloved Torleif Knaphus monument at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, this monument depicts the Mormon handcart brigades that traveled overland from Iowa to Utah in the 1850s. It balances the nearby "Tragedy at Winter Quarters" with an unrealistically positive view of a later Mormon overland migration.
11. Mormon Pioneer Cemetery Monument, “Tragedy of Winter Quarters”
This twelve-foot bronze monument was created by a descendent of the Mormon pioneers who stayed here on their journey west in the late 1840s. Recognizing the estimated six hundred Mormon pioneers who died here, the monument was dedicated in 1936 and remains the centerpiece of the cemetery in Florence, Nebraska. The statue depicts a pioneer and his wife standing above their child’s grave, stricken with grief. The monument among others was constructed to commemorate the more than 600 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who perished in the winters of 1846-47 and 1847-48 during their stay at an encampment known as Winters Quarters, one of the temporary camp settlements on the pilgrimage from Nauvoo, Illinois and other places to present-day Salt Lake City, Utah. Avard Fairbanks, professor of sculpture at the University of Michigan, was commissioned by the President of the Mormon Church, Hebert J. Grant, to create this sculpture in 1936. The monument was unveiled on September 20th, 1936 with 2,500 attendants, many of whom came from Utah by train to attend the event.
12. Pioneer Courage and Spirit of Nebraska's Wilderness Park
These two urban parks feature several bronze sculptures, most notably, a wagon train heading west and statues of bison and geese. The wagon appears to have caused a number of environmental changes to the area, as bison flee from the wagon. The stampeded also leads a flock of geese to take flight. The park includes more than 100 individual bronze pieces throughout several city blocks. The ingenious feature of the statues are the way they actually connect several city park spaces from 14th and Capitol to 16th and Dodge together with one another.
13. Mormon Trail Memorial
One of many historical markers erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution and other female heritage organizations in the early 20th century. While most featured only descriptive text, this is one of several that included bas relief sculpture to illustrate local history. Artist Paul Fjelde depicted a man and his son driving a covered wagon.
14. The Pioneer Woman statue (Lincoln, NE)
1935 monument donated by the Lincoln (Nebraska) Woman’s Club. One of several statues in Lincoln-area parks sculpted by Ellis Luis Burman, who was employed by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. Design combines elements of other Pioneer Mother Movement monuments and the style of refined women's club members in that era.
15. No Turning Back statue
Sculpture by Veryl Goodnight depicts a woman in calico dress standing in front of wagon wheel. Emphasizes frontier women's persistence. Accompanied by the text of a poem by the same title written by the sculptor. The final lines of the poem about young women on the trails westard declare, "There was absolutely/No Turning Back."
16. François Chouteau & Native American Heritage Fountain
Development of the François Chouteau & Native American Heritage Fountain coincided with the 2021 Kansas City bicentennial. Francois and many members of the Chouteau family were early French traders and trappers who operated west of St. Louis during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Francois established a trading post and residency in what would become modern-day Kansas City, and his wife became known by some as "the Mother of Kansas City." The fountain and park commemorate Native Americans who predated the French trader along with the new arrivals of European descent. While the fountain was designed to celebrate Native peoples and settlers alike, it is important to note that the arrival of European settlers set in place a series of events that culminated with tens of thousands of Native Americans in Missouri and eastern Kansas being in a position where they were forced from the area. Starting with treaties and missions in the 1830s, the establishment of the Town of Kansas, the eventual creation of Kansas Territory and the growth of Kansas City, the arrival of French traders started a process that had occurred in St. Louis and other former "frontier" communities. At the same time, it appears the Chouteau family enjoyed a friendly relationship with Native Americans based on trade.
17. Stella at the Spring and A Young Native American
Two sculptures by Mischell Riley -- one depicting a young Native American man, and the other a young pioneer woman -- stand in front of the Roger T. Sermon Community Center. Nearby, a pioneer cabin and historical marker mark the location of an old spring used by both indigenous peoples and settlers. A Trail of Death memorial commemorates the forced removal of the Potawatomi (Neshnabe) people to this area in 1838.
18. Old Oregon Trail medallion (Independence, Missouri)
Avard Fairbanks sculpted this covered wagon scene in 1924. Plans to use Fairbanks' image to mark the route of the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri, to Seaside, Oregon, floundered in the 1920s, resulting in only two markers in Oregon. But in the 21st century, Fairbanks' descendants have worked to erect additional castings of the bronze medallion, including this one in the jumping-off point of Independence. The medallion was installed on a stone marker first installed in 1948.
19. Pioneer Woman statue (National Frontier Trails Museum)
A "Pioneer Woman" statue by Mexican sculptor Juan Lombardo-Rivera was placed in the courtyard of the National Frontier Trails Museum when it opened in 1990. In 2013 that sculpture was stolen from the museum. The thieves took apart the statue and tried to sell it for scrap. It was replaced by this statue by local artist Charles Goslin in 2016.
20. Pioneer Mother statue (Kansas City, MO)
1927 statue by famed western artist A. Phimister Proctor. Modeled after artist's own mother to honor women who migrated West on the overland trails in the mid-19th century. The monument was celebrated at its dedication, but soon forgotten. The nearby village of Westport sought to claim the statue in the 1980s. Westport claims to be the birthplace of Kansas City.
21. The Scout
Sculptor Cyrus Dallin displayed this sixteen-foot bronze statue of a mounted Sioux Indian at San Francisco's 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition. The sculpture was awarded the gold medal, leading to a cross-country tour of temporary installations that included Kansas City in 1916. In response to the statue's popularity, local newspaper editorials called for action, noting that the touring statue was for sale with a listed price of $15,000. Seventeen area organizations led efforts to raise funds, and local teachers worked with area school children to collect small donations, including nickels and dimes. Collectively, the efforts raised the needed funds to purchase and permanently display the sculpture. The effort was successful, with area residents contributing enough to purchase the statue and place it in Penn Valley Park. The Scout has been one of the symbols of Kansas City since its public dedication in 1922.
22. Daughters of Old Westport Memorial
Westport businessmen wanted to put up a life-sized stone wagon train to mark the centennial of the Santa Fe Trail. Instead, local women raised the funds for this 1920 tribute "To the Pioneer Mother." It was one of the first pioneer mother monuments erected in the United States.
23. Pioneer Square Monument
This 1986 tribute to John C. McCoy, Alexander Majors, and Jim Bridger is the culmination of 75 years of pioneer commemoration efforts by Westport business leaders and residents.
24. Wagon Master statue
Bronze sculpture of a wagon train leader sculpted by Gus Shafer. It is one of several monuments in the Kansas City area that commemorate the region's connections to the Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails during the mid-19th century.
25. The Homesteaders statue
Dedicated in 1952, this statue was purchased by J. C. Nichols Company and originally placed at the entrance to the Prairie Village Shopping Center as part of an effort to build a connection between the postwar Kansas City suburb and the area's pioneer history. The statue was later moved and placed within a fountain at the entrance to the town in 2002.
26. Pioneer Crossing Park
Park created the town of Shawnee's 150th anniversary in 2006. It commemorates Shawnee’s place on the mid-19th-century Santa Fe, Oregon, and California wagon trails and Fort Leavenworth Military Road. It features two sculptures by local artist Charles Goslin depicting that history.
27. Going West on the Old Santa Fe Trail
This stagecoach sculpture designed by local Chinese-born artist Kwan Wu, reflects the ethnic diversity of the 19th-century American West. The sculpture was funded by private donations to mark Olathe’s 150th anniversary.
28. Harvest Prayer statue
Statue of pioneer family marks the junction of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails. It depicts a man in frontier clothing kneeling in prayer. He holds a Bible in one hand, and his other hand rests on a walking plow. His wife stands beside him with her head bowed in prayer. She cradles their young son in one arm and rests the other hand on her husband's shoulder. This statue became a centerpoint of MidAmerica Nazarene University when erected in the campus Prayer Circle in 1994.
29. Children of the Trails sculpture
This bronze sculpture is dedicated to all of the children whose lives were lost due to the harsh conditions on the overland journeys westward. A pioneer boy, a girl and their dog run through an arch. It was sculpted by Kansas City artist Kwan Wu. Rocks in the fountain beneath them represent the streams that children crossed on the overland trail. Sculptor Kwan Wu was born and trained in China, but since immigrating to the United States and settling in the Kansas City area he has sculpted two major works depicting the western trails for Olathe, Kansas.
30. The Pioneer statue
Monument to early white pioneers in Kansas. Sculpted by Frederick Hibbard, it depicts a white man working with a shovel. Physician and real estate speculator Simeon Bell purchased this sculpture, originally called "The Corn Planter," at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. He donated it to the University of Kansas in hopes that it would help future generations understand the challenges that early Kansas settlers faced. It remained in storage until 1916, when it became the first work of statuary installed on that campus. It has been moved several times as the campus has changed.
31. Pioneer Mother Memorial
Located on the southwest quadrant of the stunning Kansas State Capitol’s grounds, the Pioneer Women Memorial pays an essential tribute to an often overlooked facet of westward expansion in the United States: the woman, mother, and pioneer. Women pioneers were central to the success of westward settlement, and without these courageous women, many who held several roles in both traveling caravans and small settlements, newfound communities west of the Mississippi would have encountered eventual destruction and abandonment. The sculpture on the capitol grounds features the image of a pioneer woman, who is said to represent the artistic embodiment of all Kansas pioneer women. Aside her on the marble pedestal includes a dog by one of her feet, a pre-teen son by the other foot, a baby cradled in her arm, and a large rifle sitting across her lap. According to the statue’s inscription, the symbolic pioneer mother is too well-fed to be a pioneer woman, but it nonetheless represents the hardships, struggles, and ideals these women met settling into the Kansas territory. Sculpted by acclaimed Topeka resident, Robert Merrill Gage, the Pioneer Women Memorial was dedicated on May 11, 1937, the Mother’s Day of that year.
32. The Pioneers Who Founded Topeka
1931 relief of a frontier farm, with a log cabin, covered wagon, and a pioneer plowing by unknown artist. Copper or bronze plaque set on iron footings cast by Deggingers Foundry attached to boulder. Dedicated in 1931 by Shawnee County Old Settlers Society. Originally mounted on the archway entrance of the "Old Settlers Memorial Grounds" in Gage Park.
33. Heritage Woman statue
This styled nude statue was intended to honor early white Kansas settler women when it was placed in Wichita amid the nation’s bicentennial celebration in 1976. Wichitans accepted the statue at that time, but some appear to have become concerned with her nudity. Since 2005 the statue has been seriously vandalized three times.
34. Hardship and Dreams statue
This sunbonneted pioneer mother carrying a Bible and satchel and leading her young son by the hand echoes Bryant Baker's famous "Pioneer Woman" for Ponca City, Oklahoma. It was sculpted by Dorothy L. Koelling in 1989, and dedicated on the Wichita riverfront in 1994. According to the dedication plaque, it "symbolizes the hardhip and dreams of early Wichita pioneers." It was given in memory of Eva M. and Will G. Price to recognize "their devotion and inspiration to the cultural and business life of Wichita." The statue stands in front of the civic center, near statues of a Native American man holding a peace pipe, Lebanese immigrant Farris George Jabara, and a group of children at play representing America's future.
35. Pioneer Man and Woman statues
Statues placed in front of the 1993 Woods County Centennial Wall to mark the centennial of Oklahoma statehood in 2007. Local artist Calvin L. Graybill sculpted a man and woman staking their land claim. In contrast to other Oklahoma pioneer monuments erected around the same time, Graybill portrayed each figure separately on its own base.
36. Land of Hope
Bronze monument commemorating the centennial of the 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Run. In contrast to other Oklahoma land run monuments that focused on homeseekers rushing in to stake their claim, local artist Bernadette Carman portrayed a couple gazing out over their chosen homestead.
37. Pioneer Woman Museum
Opened in 1958, the Pioneer Woman Museum is dedicated to women who have contributed to Oklahoma's development. In addition to displays of everyday household items used by pioneer women, the museum features an exhibit dedicated to women journalists and a Walk of Fame showcasing Oklahoma women who broke new ground. Craft demonstrations and special exhibits are also held in the facility. The museum sits adjacent to the 30-foot bronze Pioneer Woman statue unveiled in 1930.
38. Centennial Statue
Monument commemorating the centennial of the 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Run. The original title of the work, "This Land is Mine," was stripped from the work in response to protest from the local Native American community, who objected to the title's suggestion that white settlers were justified in taking Native lands.
39. Boomer
Bronze monument portraying an Oklahoma settler on horseback rushing to stake his land claim as part of the 1889 land run that opened the Cherokee Strip to white settlement. It is one of a series of monuments commemorating the settlement of the Cherokee Strip by sculptor Harold T. Holden.
40. Holding the Claim
Sculpture depicting a land rush settler camping out with his horse to stake his land claim. Part of a series of sculptures by Harold T. "H" Holden depicting Cherokee Strip history.
41. The Homesteaders
One of several monuments erected to mark Oklahoma's statehood centennial in 2007. While most other centennial monuments focus on the excitement of Oklahoma land rushes, local artist Harold T. Holden sculpted a homesteading family to stand in front of the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center.
42. Hopes and Dreams
Centennial monument portraying the excitement of the 1893 Cherokee Strip land rush. It is one of several land run or state centennial monuments erected in Oklahoma in the 1990s and early 2000s.
43. Pioneer Family and Rooster
2002 Broken Arrow city centennial monument portraying local history and culture. It emphasizes the mixing of Native American and white cultures and local agricultural industry. The portrayal of a husband, wife, and their young son echoes other postwar pioneer family monuments.
44. Statehood
Bronze monument erected in 1977 to mark the 70th anniversary of the creation of the state of Oklahoma. It depicts a white cowboy marrying an Indigenous woman. It portrayed the melding of white settlement with the former Indian Territory achieved at statehood.
45. Pioneer Man
Life-sized bronze sculpture by Rich Muno erected to commemorate the perseverance of Oklahoma homesteaders. Dedicated as part of local US Bicentennial celebration in 1976.
46. Leaping Into History Monument
This statue, entitled “Leaping Into History,” was dedicated in 2007 and commemorates Oklahoma settler Nanitta R. H. Daisey who was a participant in the first Oklahoma Land Run on April 22, 1889. Known at the time as "Kentucky Daisey," Nanitta Daisey made newspaper headlines across the country when she leaped from a train to beat others to claim a plot of land. Using stakes and her petticoat, she marked off this land just north of Edmond Station. This statue was erected in 2007 as one of the official Oklahoma Centennial Projects, commissioned as a statewide celebration of Oklahoma’s 100th birthday. Kentucky Daisey’s daring leap into the Unassigned Lands exemplifies the pioneer spirit and an exciting event at the founding of Oklahoma. the statue also serves as a reminder of the way lands that had been promised to Native peoples were later claimed by white settlers through the actions of the federal government.
47. Centennial Land Run Monument
The Centennial Land Run Monument commemorates the transfer of land that had been promised to Native American tribes to the federal government, and the subsequent decision by the government to open those lands to white settlers. The first of three land rushes occurred in 1889 when Indian Territory became Oklahoma Territory and would-be settlers were invited to stake their claims simply by being the first to reach and thereby"claim" a section of land. The monument consists of 45 larger-than-life bronze statues, depicting the settlers in various action poses, frozen in time. The first statue was placed in 2003 and the final one in 2015.
48. Pioneers of 1889
Monument depicting the 1889 Land Run in which mostly white settlers rushed in to claim "Unassigned Lands" in what was then Indian Territory. This statue and several others that followed in northern Oklahoma focus on the excitement of the "land runs," which sets them apart from pioneer monuments elsewhere in the United States.
49. Pioneer Classroom
Monument depicting a frontier schoolteacher accompanied by her students. It was dedicated "to the pioneers and educators of the State of Oklahoma" in 1999. Public monuments to pioneer women often honor them as teachers or informal educators of their own children.
50. Pioneer Woman Monument
In March of 1935, Governor Pat M. Neff proposed “a monument to pioneer mothers to be fashioned out of Texas granite, by Texas hands, and tower above every other Texas monument.”[11] After the first monument selection ended in controversy, a model by Leo Friedlander, a New York artist was selected. In 1938, Friedlander constructed a lone figure made of solid Georgia marble, standing at 15-feet tall. At the base of the monument, is an inscription created by TWU Associate Dean, Jessie Humphries. This inscription characterize the significance of this monument, that stands as a symbol for a University that has been a pioneer in women’s education. The monument has called Texas Woman’s University home for the last 80 years, she is known as the Pioneer Woman.
51. Walking to Texas fountain
Limestone statue honoring early settlers of Grapevine, Texas. Stands in the middle of a horse head fountain honoring Native Americans of the region. Installed as part of revitalization of Grapevine's historic downtown.
52. Barnards of the Brazos -- First Family of Glen Rose
Bronze monument depicting Glen Rose's founding couple: Tejana Juana Cavasos and white American trader Charles Barnard. Barnard supposedly ransomed Cavasos from Comanches who had taken her captive.
53. The Crossing
Bronze public statuary installation intended to attract heritage tourism to Round Rock, Texas. Marks a stream crossing on the Chisholm Trail.
54. Texas Pioneer Woman statue
Commissioned by District VIII of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT). This pioneer mother was sculpted by DRT member Linda Sioux Henley. The Pioneer Woman's Statue Committee worked for 10 years to design and fundraise for the statue. According to The Kerrville Times, the statue "captured the brave proud spirit of the women who rocked the cradle and civilized the Republic of Texas." It was the only statue of a woman on the Texas Capitol grounds when it was dedicated in 1998.
55. Angelina Eberly statue
Innkeeper Angelina Eberly is credited with saving the Texas capital at Austin. In 1842 alerted citizen vigilantes about a group of Texas Rangers' efforts to move the state archives, which many feared would lead to relocating the republic's capital. Her warning cannon shot blew a hole in the wall of the General Land Office. This monument celebrates her contribution, but its comedic style also mocks the damage she wreaked during the so-called Archive War.
56. German Pioneers of Texas monument
Monument honoring German immigrants who settled in Texas in the late 19th century. Fundraising for the monument began in the 1910s but got derailed by World War I. The monument was completed in 1936 amid a statewide celebration marking the centennial of Texas' independence.
