
Beech and Main streets, Lamar, Colorado
One of a dozen such monuments—and the only one in Colorado—this oddly maternal chunk of granite-heavy aggregate naturally honors the mothers who crossed the country on the Santa Fe Trail with their broods in covered wagons. These statues, erected in the 1920s by the Daughters of the American Revolution, have rifles and babies in their right and left hands, respectively. I salute the statue not because of the rifle, nor the baby, nor the rare baby-rifle combination, but instead because this monument to travelers traversing the plains should be celebrated by all road-trippers, whether they’re mothers or not.
One of a dozen such monuments—and the only one in Colorado—this oddly maternal chunk of granite-heavy aggregate naturally honors the mothers who crossed the country on the Santa Fe Trail with their broods in covered wagons. These statues, erected in the 1920s by the Daughters of the American Revolution, have rifles and babies in their right and left hands, respectively. I salute the statue not because of the rifle, nor the baby, nor the rare baby-rifle combination, but instead because this monument to travelers traversing the plains should be celebrated by all road-trippers, whether they’re mothers or not.