Rich, born in the Cana community, founded the Boone Trail Highway and Memorial Association (1913). To commemorate Daniel Boone, Rich erected arrowhead-shaped monuments of rocks and concrete typically containing a metal plaque depicting Boone sitting on a boulder looking westward. Each plaque contained a small amount of metal from 400 pounds of scrap salvaged from the USS Maine. Rich, dressed in a coonskin cap and carrying a long rifle, appeared throughout the country promoting the legend of Daniel Boone; he claimed to have placed over 350 memorial tablets.