HistoricSiteMarkers
Postwar & Contemporary

Blue Star Memorial Highway (Jefferson County, OR)

Jefferson County, Jefferson County, Oregon

Marker Inscription

Blue Star Memorial Highway A tribute to the Armed Forces that have defended the United States of America sponsored by Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc. in cooperation with Oregon State Highway Department

Erected by National Garden Clubs, Inc.

The Story

The Blue Star Memorial, first raised by garden clubs in 1945 to honor those who served in World War II, spread into a national program of roadside tributes bearing the blue star of the wartime service flag. This Jefferson County marker, sponsored by the Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs with the State Highway Department, dedicates a length of Oregon highway to the armed forces that have defended the United States.

Why it matters

In Oregon as across the country, these markers turned ordinary highways into a continuous, volunteer-tended memorial to military service.

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Themes & tags

Military & WartimeMemorial

Nearby & related markers

Blue Star Memorial Highway

Hood River, OR

Blue Star Memorial Highways began in 1945, when New Jersey garden clubs planted trees along a road to honor the men and women serving in the armed forces, and the idea spread into a nationwide network of markers maintained by garden clubs. This tribute along an Oregon highway carries that tradition forward, dedicating the road to all who have defended the nation.

Blue Star Memorial Highway

Multnomah County, OR

Blue Star Memorial Highways trace their origin to 1945, when garden clubs began marking roads to honor Americans serving in the armed forces during World War II. Named for the blue star on service flags hung in the windows of military families, the markers spread nationwide as a tribute to all who serve.

Blue Star Memorial Highway A tribute to the Armed

Oregon City, OR

The Blue Star Memorial Highway program began in 1945 and spread across the country, honoring the armed forces with markers named for the blue-star service flags of the World Wars. This Oregon City marker was placed by Clackamas District No. 15 of the Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs with the state highway department. It ties a historic Willamette Valley town, long a landmark of the Oregon Trail's end, into a national memorial tradition.