Madonna

For the National Old Trails Road project, German artist August Leimbach cast 10-foot tall, five-ton statues of the Madonna, which rest on a six-foot tall, 12-ton base.

– Courtesy KevinKarlStudio.com –Upland, California

Canadians founded Upland, originally naming it North Ontario (they had already called another settlement Ontario). The area was known for citrus fruits and grapes, and was located on the road to Los Angeles.

Its historical significance is stated on the monument, dedicated on February 1, 1929, and located on Route 66 at Foothill Boulevard and Euclid Avenue: “This trail, trod by the padres in Spanish days, became under Mexican rule, the road connecting Los Angeles, later the American Post Road…. Over this trail, November 1826 Jedediah Smith, seeking a river flowing westward, led a band of sixteen trappers, the first Americans to enter California overland.”