Explore Florida’s Madison County: A piece of World War II history
Four Freedoms Monument Marker in Madison was commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The monument is dedicated to Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms" from his 1941 State of the Union Address. The monument features a beautiful statue created by sculptor Walter Russell, and funded by the Women's National Institute. Russell envisioned the perfect dedication to Roosevelt's principals of freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
The statue was created and dedicated to Captain Colin P. Kelly Jr., one of the first American heroes of World War II, before a crowd of 60,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York. In 1944, the statue was relocated and re-dedicated in Kelly's hometown of Madison with a speech by Gov. Spessard Holland. Kelly was killed three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor when his B-17 Flying Fortress was shot down after a bombing run on Japan. While he perished, he was able to keep the bomber in the air long enough for several members of his crew to parachute to safety.
The monument is described by Smithsonian Art Inventory as, "Four robed angels, two male and two female, face outward with their backs to one another. Each is in a different activity — praying, holding a sword, holding a document, or holding grapes. The angels have long wings which extend upward, the tips of which touch those of the other angels on either side. The sculpture is mounted atop a tall, multitiered base with a plaque."
Four Freedoms Monument is located on the picturesque “Old Spanish Trail” of State Road 90. Beginning at the zero-mile in Florida at St. Augustine and meandering to Tallahassee and on to the U.S. West Coast, the auto trail
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O’Neal’s Country Buffet: facebook.com/oneals countrybuffet Sunrise Coffee Shop: sunrisecoffeeshop.us Cucinella’s Brick Oven Pizzeria: facebook.com/ CucinellasBrickOven
■ Top attractions:
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone jellystonefla.com Treasures of Madison County: treasuresof madisoncounty.com
■ Top hotels:
Best Western Plus Madison Inn: Visit website
The Unity Bed and Breakfast: theunityhouse bedandbreakfast.com Park:
was first established by the Old Spanish Trail Association and the Dixie Highway Association who were trying to map out the borders of Florida.
The city of Madison had a population of just over 3,000 in the early 1800s, and is now