HistoricSiteMarkers
Postwar & Contemporary

Blue Star Memorial

Ellaville, Schley County, Georgia

Marker Inscription

Blue Star Memorial A tribute to the Armed Forces that have defended the United States of America Sponsored by Rainbow Garden Club Magnolia District in cooperation with American Legion Auxiliary Unit 191 and The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc.

Erected by Garden Club of Georgia

The Story

The Blue Star Memorial program began in 1945, when New Jersey garden clubs lined a highway with flowering dogwoods to honor service members โ€” the blue star echoing the small banners families hung in their windows during World War II. The National Garden Clubs carried the idea across the country, and this marker in Ellaville, placed by the Rainbow Garden Club of the Magnolia District with American Legion Auxiliary Unit 191, extends that living tribute to all who have served in the U.S. armed forces.

Why it matters

It reflects a distinctly American, community-driven form of remembrance โ€” honoring military service not with a stone soldier but with roadside beauty tended by volunteers and women's garden clubs.

Own a business near here? Add it to the map.

Themes & tags

Military & WartimeMemorial

Nearby & related markers

Blue Star Memorial Highway A tribute to the Armed

Americus, GA

The Blue Star Memorial program, begun in 1945 by the National Garden Clubs, honors the armed forces with markers along American highways, the emblem borrowed from the blue-star flags of the wartime home front. In Americus the Early Bloomers Garden Club joined the Garden Club of Georgia, its Magnolia District, and the state transportation department to set this Sumter County marker. It honors all who have defended the nation.

Blue Star Memorial Highway A tribute to the Armed

Macon County, GA

The Blue Star Memorial program, begun by garden clubs in 1945, honors the armed forces with markers set along American highways, the blue star echoing the service flags of the wartime home front. In Macon County this marker was placed by the Garden Club of Georgia, its Magnolia District, the state transportation department, and the Americus and Sumter County garden clubs. It salutes all who have defended the United States.

Blue Star Memorial Highway

Richland, GA

The Blue Star Memorial, launched in 1945 by the National Garden Clubs, honors the armed forces along the nation's highways, taking its emblem from the blue-star flags of wartime families. In Richland the local garden club joined the Garden Club of Georgia, its Magnolia District, and the state transportation department to place this Stewart County marker. It honors all who have defended the country.