
Mary Draper Ingles

Statue by Matt Langford
Mary Draper Ingles (1732 – February 1815), was an American pioneer and early settler of western Virginia. In the summer of 1755 she and her two young sons were among several captives taken by Shawnee after the Draper’s Meadow Massacre during the French and Indian War. They were taken to Lower Shawneetown at the Ohio and Scioto rivers. Ingles escaped with another woman after two and a half months, making a trek of 500 to 600 miles crossing numerous rivers and creeks, and over the Appalachian Mountains to return home to Radford.


Mary Draper Ingles Monument
In the more than 250 years since Mary Draper Ingles was captured by Shawnee warriors, escaped and made her historic return journey to the New River Valley of Virginia, much has been written and produced about the preeminent colonial heroine. Mary represents...
Mary Draper Ingles Mural
In the 1940s, part of the New Deal Art Program implemented creating art in post offices all across the United States of America. Radford became one of those post offices that created and published a work of art. Funded by the U.S. Treasury Department, This art...
Mary Draper Ingles Statue
The elegant bronze statue of Mary Draper Ingles is now open to the public! The statue is located in the Mary Draper Ingles Cultural Heritage Park, adjacent to the Radford Visitor’s Center at 601 Unruh Drive in Radford. Open dawn to dusk, the park will also...
Mary Draper Ingles Trail
The Mary Draper Ingles Trail is a collection of sites and experiences in the Southwest Virginia area commemorating Mary Draper Ingles. Explore a variety of sites including museums, art installations, hiking trails, theatre, and more. This map includes sites on the...