Des Moines Memorial Drive

Washington's living road of remembrance
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Historical Background 

 

Des Moines Memorial Drive (DMMD), a road located in the Highline area of south King County, Washington, was established following World War I as a living memorial to those who gave their lives in the course of the war. Within months of the end of the war, the Seattle Garden Club decided to transform a ten-mile section of the Highline Road, also known as the Des Moines Road, into an American Elm tree-lined road. Learn more ...

 

Did you know?

  • DMMD is one of the earliest planned "living roads of remembrance" and the first in the nation to be fully implemented. This was accomplished in three short years, 1920-22.
  • It was the sole "living road of remembrance" following World War I to select American Elms for the memorial.
  • Ten miles in length, DMMD was one of the longest living roads ofremembrance, created in the 1920s.
  • It is the only living memorial designed to commemorate an individual with each tree planted.
  • It is unique in that both top French generals in World War I, Foche and Joffre traveled to King County to personally participate in dedication and treeplanting ceremonies. Other post World War I living memorials were not so honored.
  • In addition to over 1,100 memorial American Elms, the original living memorial included floral plantings below the trees that commemorated the fallen including red poppies (reference to the French Flanders Fields military burial ground, and blue forget-me-nots).
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