Get to know Wayne County’s most memorable monuments, markers and memorials

Turn back the clock and step into the past. Thanks to a wealth of highly moving monuments, markers and memorials, it’s possible to take a stroll through history in Richmond and Wayne County.
Start off an inspiring visit with one of Richmond’s most familiar landmarks. In 1928, the Daughters of the American Revolution erected the Madonna of the Trail statue at the entrance to Glen Miller Park on U.S. 40 to honor pioneer mothers who helped pave the way for Old National Road settlement in the 1800s. In another testament to the power of Wayne County women, the City of Richmond renamed its Main Street Bridge as a tribute to groundbreaking 19th-century doctor and suffragette Mary F. Thomas just last year.

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Wayne County is home to more than a dozen gold Indiana State Historic Markers all told, each telling the unique story of a specific location from the Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site and the Bethel A.M.E Church established by Bishop William Paul Quinn to the Overbeck Sisters House and Pottery Studio and the former residence of Indiana Civil War Governor Oliver P. Morton. Civil War buffs can pay their respects to Brigadier General Solomon Meredith at Riverside Cemetery in Cambridge City, where a soaring obelisk marks the grave of the Iron Brigade commander.

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In the Whitewater Gorge, the Gennett Records Walk of Fame offers an educational journey through Richmond’s proud musical heritage, commemorating a diverse roster of artists who recorded on the hometown label during its early 1900s heyday with artful plaques that look like record albums. On the other side of Main Street, two M3A3 Stuart tanks, a HUEY helicopter, an A-6 Intruder aircraft and two Naval guns respectfully anchor the Wayne County Veterans Memorial Park.

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Sitting pretty at 1,257-foot elevation above sea level near Fountain City, Hoosier Hill denotes the highest point in Indiana with a massive stone marker. Look closely and you’ll see it featured in Netflix’s “All the Bright Places” feature film.

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For information about these and other historic monuments, markers and memorials to check out across Richmond and Wayne County, go to visitrichmond.org.