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Morrill & Janes Bank Hiawatha Kansas Chamber of Commerce

Davis Memorial


category : Memorials
Davis Memorial The Internationally known Davis Memorial is located just three blocks north of U.S. Highway 36 & 73 junction and east 1/2 mile in Mt. Hope Cemetery. There are eleven life-sized figures depicting John & Sarah Davis at various stages of their married life. All but one of the statues, which is granite, were made of Italian marble by Italian craftsmen and positioned at the memorial between 1931 and 1934. The marble canopy over the main section of the memorial weighs 105,000 pounds -- more than 50 tons! The Davis Memorial has been featured on \"Ripley\'s Believe It or Not\", Newsweek, Life, and People magazines. Each year the marble and granite display is visited by 20,000 to 30,000 people from across the United States and around the world. The Davis Memorial is one of the nations most unusual tombs.

John Milburn Davis erected this memorial to \"the sacred memory\" of his wife, Sarah. After she died in 1930, he almost immediately commissioned the work to begin.

In every sense it was a monumental project. The lifesize Italian marble statues of the Davises were striking in their detail and their accuracy. The cost of the memorial was staggering in a small town during The Great Depression. The stubbornness of Davis toward his project in the face of public criticism was prelude to a legend.


Address: East Iowa
Phone: 785-742-7417
Our Website:www.cityofhiawatha.org/visitors/what-to-see-do/davis-memorial

Come visit us in Hiawatha, Kansas

Attractions and Upcoming Events

Old Homes Tour

The self-guided old homes tour features 14 of Hiawatha's beautiful turn of the century homes that will help you relive some of the past. The brochure has a map and short history of each house featured. The brochure can be picked up at the Chamber office and several businesses in Hiawatha. <

Hiawatha, KS Tours

Brown County Courthouse

The Brown County Courthouse was built in 1925 and graces the square in downtown Hiawatha.

Hiawatha, KS Historic Courthouses

Brown County Historical Society Ag Museum and Windmill Lane

The Ag Museum constructed in 1993, features a unique display of windmills. It resembles a 1900 farmstead with a paved windmill trail for sightseers and joggers to use and enjoy. There is a log cabin replica that is the office, the Old Barn, Ernie'

Hiawatha, KS Museums

Town Clock

The Town Clock is the only such clock between Indianapolis and Denver on Highway U.S. 36. It was built in 1891 as part of the First National Bank building and is listed on the Kansas Register. The clock is owned by the City of Hiawatha and the building by a local businessman.

Hiawatha, KS Landmarks

Brown County Historical Society Museum

Listed on both the Kansas and National Registers of Historic Places , the building which houses the Museum was built in 1920

Hiawatha, KS Museums

Things to do Memorials near Hiawatha, KS

C.H. Schneider Memorial Park

At the south end of Horton on Highway 159 and 4th street, on the west side of the road, is an unusual small park. This park w...