The woman stands 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Wow, that would be quite a basketball player. But this is no basketball player, it is a statue. Specifically, it is a monument to the pioneer women of America. It is one of only 12 such statues which are located across the nation. This one is found in rural Kansas.
This statue is located in Council Grove, county seat of Morris County. Diane Wolfe is the director of the Council Grove/Morris 
County Chamber of Commerce. I was referred to Diane by Kay Hutchinson, who recently retired after 22 years as executive director of the Greater Morris County Development Corporation.
Kay and Diane are strong advocates for Morris County. “There are more historic sites on a per capita basis in Morris County than Washington, D.C.,” Kay said. As a key community along the Santa Fe Trail, Council Grove is the location of the Custer Elm, Post Office Oak, and 20 or more other historic locations.
One prominent site in Council Grove is the Madonna of the Trail statue. The history of this statue goes back more than a century.
Continue reading “Kansas Profile – Now That’s Rural: Madonna of the Trail”
