Memorial Facts

The debate rages on did John Davis build the memorial so his wife's family wouldn't inherit his fortune, or was he so grief stricken he wanted his life with his only family remembered?

 Most of the life-sized statues were commissioned, crafted in Italy and positioned at the memorial between 1931 and 1934

 All but one of the stone figures is carved from Italian marble, which was deemed most suitable for a woman’s delicate facial features.

 Estimated total cost of the memorial was $200,000, and extravagant sum during the Depression.

 The marble canopy over the main section of the memorial weights 105,000 pounds – more than 50 tons!

 The memorial has been featured in Newsweek, Life and People magazines and on a TV version of Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

 The Marble-and-granite display is visited annually by 20-30,000 people from across the United States and around the world.

It is one of the oldest landmarks in the town of Hiawatha erected in c.1891 on Oregon Street (part of old Hwy US-36) - the hub of downtown Hiawatha. It is the only Clock structure of its kind between Indianapolis, Indiana and Denver, Colorado on this highway.

The building is an extraordinary example of Richardson-Romanesque architectural style and is listed in the Register of Historic Kansas Places. The structure is identified as being part of the contributing structure to the Hiawatha Courthouse Square Historical Districts listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

This mesmerizing mural was commissioned by Pederson Seed as a gift to the community. The background reflects our farming community and Pederson’s livelihood providing seeds & other services to farmers all over the NE Kansas area. Each letter represents and gives a glimpse into our town’s history and traditions. 

This fabulous depiction of a train coming through our maple trees flanked by our original street lamps (that were created by the former local Hiawatha foundry) in town. This stunning work was created by muralists Mike Trujillo, Whitney Kerr, Chase Hunter, Quin Vraspier, & David Bonilla. 

Hiawatha is known as the beautiful city of maples.  The town has started to add fiberglass maple leaves to it's public art celebrating the community's history, accomplishments, interests and more through these statues.

Over 45 windmills on the property!