Madonna of the Trail
Upland, California
Madonna of the Trail statues stand in twelve locations from Maryland to California, tracing a historic travel route from "covered wagon days." The 18-foot-tall monuments were a project of the Daughters of the American Revolution, installed in 1928-29, and are a tribute to pioneer mothers who traveled west with their crazy husbands.
Upland's Madonna was originally meant for San Bernardino, but that city didn't like its proposed location and wouldn't pay $1,500 for the statue base. Upland swooped in, sweet-talked the DAR, and the Madonna was unveiled in Upland on February 1, 1929.