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Mormon Trail

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: North American History

         Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
   IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
   Echo Canyon, Utah on Mormon Trail

                      Echo Canyon, Utah on Mormon Trail

   Location:       Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, USA
   Nearest city:   Nauvoo, Illinois
   Established:    November 10, 1978
   Governing body: National Trails System

   The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that
   members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled
   from 1846- 1857. Today the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States
   National Trails System, as the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.

Background

   Under the leadership of Joseph Smith, Jr., Latter Day Saints (LDS)
   established several communities throughout the United States between
   1830 and 1844, most notably in Kirtland, Ohio, Independence, Missouri,
   and Nauvoo, Illinois. However, the Saints were driven out of each of
   them in turn due to internal disagreements and conflicts with other
   settlers (see History of the Latter Day Saint movement). They were
   finally forced to abandon Nauvoo in 1846.

   Although the movement had schismed into several denominations after
   Smith's death in 1844, most members aligned themselves with Brigham
   Young and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Under
   Young's leadership, about 13,000 Mormon citizens of Nauvoo set out to
   find a new home in the West.

The Trek West

   As the senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles after Joseph
   Smith's death, Brigham Young assumed responsibility of the leadership
   of the church. He would later be sustained as President of the Church
   and Prophet.

   Young now had to lead the Saints into the far west, without knowing
   exactly where to go or where they would end up. He insisted the Mormons
   should settle in a location no one else wanted and felt the isolated
   Great Basin would provide the Saints with many advantages.

   Young reviewed information on the Great Salt Lake Valley and the Great
   Basin, consulted with mountain men and trappers and met with Father
   Pierre-Jean De Smet, a Jesuit missionary familiar with the region. He
   organized a vanguard company to break trail to the Rocky Mountains,
   evaluate trail conditions, find sources of water, and select a central
   gathering point in the Great Basin. A new route on the north side of
   the Platte and North Platte rivers was chosen to avoid potential
   conflicts over grazing rights, water access and campsites with
   travelers using the established Oregon Trail on the river’s south side.

   The Quincy Convention of October 1845 passed resolutions demanding that
   the Latter-day Saints withdraw from Nauvoo by May 1846. A few days
   later, the Carthage Convention called for establishment of a militia
   that would force them out if they failed to meet the May deadline. To
   try to meet this deadline and to get an early start on the trek to the
   Great Basin, the Latter-day Saints began leaving Nauvoo in February
   1846. Young originally planned to lead an express company of about 300
   men to the Great Basin during the summer of 1846. He believed they
   could cross Iowa Territory and reach the Missouri River in four to six
   weeks. The actual trip across Iowa, however, was slowed by rain, mud,
   swollen rivers, and poor preparation, and required sixteen weeks—nearly
   three times longer than planned. It was apparent that the Latter-day
   Saints could not make it to the Great Basin that season and would have
   to winter on the Missouri River.

The Vanguard Company of 1847

   In April 1847, chosen members of the Vanguard Company gathered, final
   supplies were packed, and the group was organized into 14 military
   companies. A militia and night guard was formed. The company consisted
   of 143 men, including three black slaves and eight members of the
   Council of the Twelve, three women, and two children. The train
   contained 73 wagons, draft animals, and livestock and carried enough
   supplies to provision the group for one year. On April 5th, the wagon
   train moved west from Winter Quarters toward the Great Basin.

   The journey from Winter Quarters to Fort Laramie took six weeks, with
   the company arriving at the fort on June 1st. While at Fort Laramie,
   the vanguard company was joined by members of the Mormon Battalion who
   had been excused due to illness and sent to winter in Pueblo, Colorado
   and a group of Church members from Mississippi. At this point, the now
   larger company took the established Oregon Trail toward the trading
   post at Ft. Bridger.

   Young met mountain man Jim Bridger on June 28th. They discussed routes
   into the Salt Lake Valley, and the feasibility of viable settlements in
   the mountain valleys of the Great Basin. The company pushed on through
   South Pass, rafted across the Green River and arrived at Fort Bridger
   on July 7th. About the same time, they were joined by thirteen more
   members of the sick detachment of the Mormon Battalion.

   Now facing a more rugged and hazardous journey, Young chose to follow
   the trail used by the Donner-Reed party on their journey to California
   the previous year. As the vanguard company traveled through the rugged
   mountains, they divided into three sections. Young and several other
   members of the party suffered from a fever, generally accepted as a
   “mountain fever” induced by wood ticks. The small sick detachment
   lagged behind the larger group, and a scouting division was created to
   move farther ahead on the designated route.

   Scouts Erastus Snow and Orson Pratt entered the Salt Lake Valley on
   July 21st. On July 23rd, Pratt offered a prayer dedicating the land to
   the Lord. Ground was broken, irrigation ditches were dug, and the first
   fields of potatoes and turnips were planted. On July 24th, Young first
   saw the valley from a “sick” wagon driven by his friend Wilford
   Woodruff. According to Woodruff, Young expressed his satisfaction in
   the appearance of the valley and declared This is the right place,
   drive on.

   In August 1847, Young and selected members of the vanguard company
   returned to Winter Quarters to organize the companies scheduled for
   following years. By December 1847, more than two thousand Mormons had
   completed the journey to the Salt Lake Valley.

Ongoing migration

   Each year during the Mormon migration, people continued to be organized
   into "companies", each company bearing the name of its leader and
   subdivided into groups of 10 and 50. The Saints travelled the trail
   broken by the Vanguard company, splitting the journey into two
   sections. The first segment began in Nauvoo and ended in Winter
   Quarters, Nebraska, near modern-day Omaha. The second half of the
   journey took the Saints through Nebraska and Wyoming before finishing
   their journey in the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah. The earlier
   groups used covered wagons pulled by oxen to carry their supplies
   across the country. Later companies used handcarts and traveled by
   foot.

   By 1849 many of the Latter-day Saints who remained in Iowa or Missouri
   were poor and unable to afford the costs of the wagon, teams of oxen,
   and supplies that would be required for the trip. The LDS Church
   established a revolving fund known as the Perpetual Emigration Fund to
   enable the poor to emigrate. By 1852, most of the Latter-day Saints
   from Nauvoo who wished to emigrate had done so, and the church
   abandoned its settlements in Iowa. However, many church members from
   the eastern states and from Europe continued to emigrate to Utah, often
   assisted by the Perpetual Emigration Fund.

   In 1856, the church inaugurated a system of handcart companies in order
   to enable poor European emigrants to make the trek more cheaply. The
   emigrants would carry their goods and provisions on small handcarts,
   which they pushed or pulled along the trail. Five companies made the
   trek in 1856, and the last two—the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies
   met disaster when they left very late and encountered heavy snow and
   freezing weather in Wyoming. Young organized a rescue effort that
   brought the companies in, but more than 210 of the 980 emigrants in the
   two parties died.

   The handcart companies continued with more success until 1860, and
   traditional ox-and-wagon companies also continued for those who could
   afford the higher cost. After 1860 the church began sending wagon
   companies east each spring, to return to Utah in the summer with the
   emigrating Latter-day Saints. Finally, with the completion of the
   Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, future emigrants were able to travel
   by rail, and the era of the Mormon trail pioneer came to an end.

   At the shore of the Great Salt Lake, then in Mexican territory, they
   finally settled down. Farming the land was initially difficult, as the
   shares broke when they tried to plough the dry ground. An irrigation
   system was designed and the land flooded before plowing, with the
   system providing supplemental moisture during the year. Salt Lake City
   was laid out and designated as Church headquarters. Hard work produced
   a prosperous community. In their new settlement, entertainment was also
   important, and the first public building was a theatre.

   It did not take long, however, until the United States caught up with
   them, and in 1848, after the end of the war with Mexico, the land in
   which they settled became part of the United States.

Sites along the trail

   The following are major points along the trail at which the early
   Mormon pioneers stopped, established temporary camps, or used as
   landmarks and meeting places. The sites are categorized by their
   location in respect to modern day US states.

Illinois

     * Nauvoo — Nauvoo was the starting point for the Mormon trail and the
       early home base for LDS migrants.

Iowa

     * Sugar Creek (7 miles west of Nauvoo) — Beginning with their first
       crossing of the Mississippi River on February 4, 1846, the
       Latter-day Saints gathered at the frozen banks of Sugar Creek. The
       poorly prepared emigrants suffered from severe winter weather while
       camped there. Sugar Creek was the staging area for the westward
       trek across Iowa that started March 1.
     * Richardson's Point (35 miles west) — The emigrants made their way
       past Croton and Farmington to ford the Des Moines River at
       Bonaparte. In early March 1846 the party was halted for 10 days by
       heavy rain at a wooded area known as Richardson's Point. Some of
       the first deaths of the pioneers occurred at this location.
     * Chariton River Crossing (80 miles west) — The trail continues past
       the modern towns of Troy, Drakesville, and West Grove to reach the
       Chariton River. At this crossing, on March 27, Young organized the
       lead group of the migration, forming three camps of 100 families,
       each led by a captain. This military-style organization would be
       used for all subsequent Mormon emigrant companies.
     * Locust Creek (103 miles west) — The trail proceeds past Cincinnati
       to Locust Creek. There on April 13 William Clayton, scribe for
       Brigham Young, composed "Come, Come Ye Saints," the most famous and
       enduring hymn from the Mormon Trail.
     * Garden Grove (128 miles west) — On April 23 the emigrants arrived
       at the location of their first semi-permanent settlement, which
       they named Garden Grove. They enclosed and planted 715 acres to
       supply food for later emigrants and established a village that is
       still in existence today. About 600 Latter-day Saints settled at
       Garden Grove. By 1852 they had moved on to Utah.
     * Mount Pisgah (153 miles west) — As they entered Potawatomi
       territory, the emigrants established another semi-permanent
       settlement that they named Mount Pisgah. Several thousand acres
       were cultivated and a settlement of about 700 Latter-day Saints
       thrived there from 1846 to 1852. Now the site is marked by a 9-acre
       park, which contains exhibits, historical markers, and a
       reconstructed log cabin. However, little remains from the 19th
       century except a cemetery memorializing the 300 to 800 emigrants
       who died there.
     * Nishnabotna River Crossing (232 miles west) — From Mount Pisgah the
       trail proceeds past the modern towns of Orient, Bridgewater, and
       Lewis. Just west of Lewis, the 1846 emigrants passed a Potawatomi
       encampment on the Nishnabotna River. The Potawatomis were also
       refugees; 1846 was their last year in the area.
     * Grand Encampment (255 miles west) — From the Nishnabotna River, the
       trail proceeds past present-day Macedonia to Mosquito Creek on the
       eastern outskirts of present-day Council Bluffs. The first emigrant
       company arrived on June 13, 1846. At this open area, where the Iowa
       School for the Deaf is now located, the LDS emigrant companies
       paused and camped, forming what was called the Grand Encampment.
       From this site on July 16, the Mormon Battalion was mustered into
       military service for the Mexican-American War.
     * Kanesville (later Council Bluffs) (265 miles west) — The emigrants
       established an important settlement and outfitting point at this
       site on the Missouri River, originally known as Miller's Hollow.
       The emigrants renamed the settlement as Kanesville, honoring Thomas
       L. Kane, a non-LDS attorney who was politically well connected and
       used his influence to assist the Latter-day Saints. From 1846 to
       1852, it was an important LDS settlement and the outfitting point
       for companies traveling to Utah. Orson Hyde, an Apostle and
       ecclesiastical leader of the settlement, published a newspaper
       called the Frontier Guardian. In 1852 the major LDS settlements at
       Kanesville, Mount Pisgah, and Garden Grove were closed as the
       settlers moved on to Utah. After 1852, however, the Church
       continued to outfit and supply emigrant companies (mostly LDS
       converts coming from the British Isles or Europe) at this
       community, now renamed Council Bluffs, until the mid-1860s, when
       the terminus of the First Transcontinental Railroad was extended to
       the west.

Nebraska

     * Winter Quarters (266 miles west) — Although Brigham Young had
       originally planned to travel all the way to the Salt Lake Valley in
       1846, the emigrants' lack of preparation had become apparent during
       their difficult crossing of Iowa. Furthermore, the departure of the
       Mormon Battalion left the emigrants short on manpower. Young
       decided to settle for the winter along the Missouri River. The
       emigrants were located on both sides of the river, but their
       settlement at Winter Quarters on the west side was the largest.
       There they built 700 dwellings where an estimated 3,500 Latter-day
       Saints spent the winter of 1846-47; many would also reside there
       during the winter of 1847-48. Conditions such as scurvy,
       consumption, chills and fever were common; the settlement recorded
       359 deaths between September 1846 and May 1848. However, while at
       Winter Quarters the LDS emigrants were able to save or trade for
       the equipment and supplies that they would need to continue the
       westward trek. The settlement was later renamed Florence and is now
       part of Omaha.
     * Elkhorn River (293 miles west)
     * Platte River (305 miles west) - All emigrants leaving Missouri
       traveled along the Platte River for hundreds of miles. There was a
       prevailing opinion that the North side of the river was healthier,
       so most Latter-day Saints generally stuck to that side, which also
       separated them from unpleasant encounters with potential former
       enemies, like emigrants from Missouri or Illinois. In 1849, 1850 &
       1852, traffic was so heavy along the Platte that virtually all feed
       was stripped from both sides of the river. The lack of food and the
       threat of disease made the journey along the Platte a deadly
       gamble.
     * Loup Fork (352 miles west) - Crossing the Loup Fork was, like the
       Elkhorn, one of the early and very difficult crossings during the
       trek west from Council Bluffs.
     * Fort Kearney (469 miles west) - This fort, named after Stephen
       Watts Kearny, was established in June 1848. Another fort named
       after Kearney was established in May 1846, but was abandoned in May
       1848. Due to this, the second Fort Kearny is sometimes called New
       Fort Kearny. The site for the fort was purchased from the Pawnee
       Indians for $2,000 in goods.
     * Confluence Point (563 miles west) - On May 11, 1847, three-fourths
       of a mile north of the confluence of the North and South Platte
       Rivers, a "roadometer" was attached to Heber C. Kimball's wagon
       driven by Pilo Johnson. Although they didn't invent the device, the
       measurements of the version they used were accurate enough to be
       used by William Clayton in his famous Latter-day Saints' Emigrants'
       Guide.
     * Ash Hollow (646 miles west) - Many passing diarists noted the
       beauty of Ash Hollow, although this was ruined by thousands of
       passing emigrants. The Sioux Indians were often on location and
       were at the site and General William S. Harney's troops won a
       battle over the Sioux there in September, 1855 - the Battle of Ash
       Hollow. The site is also the burial ground of many who died of
       cholera during the gold rush years.
     * Chimney Rock (718 miles west) - Chimney Rock is perhaps the most
       significant landmark on the Mormon Trail. Emigrants commented in
       their diaries that the landmark appeared closer than it actually
       was, and many sketched or painted it in their journals and carved
       their names into it.
     * Scotts Bluff (738 miles west) - Hiram Scott was a Rocky Mountain
       Fur Company trapper abandoned on the bluff that now bears his name
       by his companions when he became ill. Accounts of his tragic death
       are noted by almost all those who kept journals that traveled on
       the north side of the Platte. The grave of Rebecca Winters, a
       Latter-day Saint mother who fell victim to cholera in 1852, is also
       located near this site, although it has since been moved and
       rededicated.

Wyoming

     * Fort Laramie (788 miles west) — This old trading and military post
       served as a place for the emigrants to rest and restock provisions.
       The 1856 Willie Handcart Company was unable to obtain provisions at
       Fort Laramie, contributing to their subsequent tragedy when they
       ran out of food while encountering blizzard conditions along the
       Sweetwater River.
     * Upper Platte/Mormon Ferry (914 miles west) — The last crossing of
       the Platte River took place near modern Casper. For several years
       the Latter-day Saints operated a commercial ferry at the site,
       earning revenue from the Oregon- and California-bound emigrants.
       The ferry was discontinued in 1853 after a competing toll bridge
       was constructed. On October 19, 1856 the Martin Handcart Company
       forded the freezing river in mid-October, leading to exposure that
       would prove fatal to many members of the company.
     * Red Butte (940 miles west) — Red Butte was the most tragic site of
       the Mormon Trail. After crossing the Platte River, the Martin
       Handcart Company camped near Red Butte as heavy snow fell. Snow
       continued to fall for three days and the company came to a halt as
       many emigrants died. For nine days the company remained there while
       56 persons died from cold or disease. Finally, on October 28 an
       advance team of three men from the Utah rescue party reached them.
       The rescuers encouraged them that help was on the way and urged the
       company to start moving on.
     * Sweetwater River (964 miles west) — From the last crossing of the
       Platte, the trail heads directly southwest toward Independence
       Rock, where it meets and follows the Sweetwater River to South
       Pass. To shorten the journey by avoiding the twists and turns of
       the river, the trail includes nine crossings of the river.

   Independence Rock, a site along the Mormon Trail.
   Enlarge
   Independence Rock, a site along the Mormon Trail.
     * Independence Rock (965 miles west) — Independence Rock was one of
       the trail's best known and most anticipated landmarks. Many
       emigrants carved their names on the rock; many of these carvings
       are still visible today. The emigrants sometimes celebrated their
       arrival at this landmark with a dance.
     * Devil's Gate (970 miles west) — Devil's Gate was a narrow gorge cut
       through the rocks by the Sweetwater River. A small fort was located
       at Devil's Gate, which was unoccupied in 1856 when the Martin
       Handcart Company was rescued. The rescuers unloaded unnecessary
       equipment from the wagons so the weaker handcart emigrants could
       ride. A group of 19 men, led by Daniel W. Jones stayed at the fort
       over the winter to protect the property.
     * Martin's Cove (993 miles west) — On November 4, 1856 the Martin
       Handcart Company set up camp in Martin's Cove as another blizzard
       halted their progress. They remained there for five days until the
       weather abated and they could proceed toward Salt Lake City. Today
       a visitor's centre is located on the site.
     * Rocky Ridge (1038 miles west) — Between the fifth and sixth
       crossings of the Sweetwater, on October 19, 1856 the Willie
       Handcart Company was halted by the same snowstorm that stopped the
       Martin Handcart Company near Red Butte. At the same time, the
       members of the Willie Company reached the end of their supplies of
       flour. A small advance team from the rescue party found their camp
       and gave them a small amount of flour, but then pushed on to the
       east to try to locate the Martin Company. Captain James Willie and
       Joseph Elder went ahead through the snow to find the main rescue
       party and inform them of the Willie Company's peril. On October 23
       with the help of the rescue party, the Willie Company pushed ahead
       through the biting wind and snow up Rocky Ridge, a rough 5-mile
       section of the trail that ascends to a ridge in order to bypass a
       section of the Sweetwater River valley that is impassable.
     * Rock Creek (1048 miles west) — After their grueling 18-hour trek up
       Rocky Ridge, the Willie Handcart Company camped at the crossing of
       Rock Creek. That night 13 emigrants died; the next morning their
       bodies were buried in a shallow grave.
     * South Pass ( Continental Divide) (1065 miles west) — South Pass,
       located between the modern towns of Atlantic City and Farson, was
       one of the most important landmarks of the Mormon Trail, where the
       trail crosses the Continental Divide. Near South Pass is Pacific
       Springs, which received its name because its waters ran to the
       Pacific Ocean.
     * Green River/Lombard Ferry (1128 miles west) — The trail crosses the
       Green River between the modern towns of Farson and Granger. The
       Latter-day Saints operated a ferry at this location to assist the
       church's emigrants and to earn money from other emigrants traveling
       to Oregon and California.
     * Ft. Bridger (1183 miles west) — Fort Bridger was established in
       1842 by famous mountain man Jim Bridger. This was the site where
       the paths of the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, and the Mormon
       Trail separated; the three trails were in parallel from Missouri
       River to Fort Bridger. In 1855 the LDS Church bought the fort from
       Jim Bridger and Louis Vazquez for $18,000. During the Utah War in
       1857, the Utah militia burned down the fort so that it wouldn't
       fall into the hands of the advancing U.S. Army under General A.S.
       Johnston.
     * Bear River Crossing (1216 miles west) - At this, one of the last
       river crossings on the Mormon Trail, Lansford W. Hastings and his
       company turned north, while the Reed-Donner Company turned south.
       Also at this site, the vanguard company met mountaineer Miles
       Goodyear on July 10, 1847, who attempted to persuade them to take
       the northern track toward his trading post.
     * The Needles (1236 miles west) - Near this very prominent rock
       formation close to the Utah-Wyoming border, Brigham Young became
       ill with what was probably Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever during
       the advance push into the Salt Lake Valley.

Utah

     * Echo Canyon (1246 miles west) - One of the last canyons through
       which the emigrants descended, this deep and narrow canyon made it
       a veritable, and frequently noted, echo chamber.
     * Big Mountain (1279 miles west) - Although dwarfed by the
       surrounding Wasatch mountain peaks, this was the highest elevation
       of the entire Mormon trail at 8,400 feet.
     * Golden Pass Road (1281 miles west) - Although unsuccessful in a
       petition to Salt Lake City for funding, Parley P. Pratt obtained
       the deed to the canyon and began the construction of a road through
       Big Canyon Creek in the Wasatch Mountains just south of Emigration
       Canyon in July of 1849. They canyon became known as Parley's Canyon
       and the road he built as the "Golden Pass Road," due to the large
       number of gold miners who used it on their way to California. A
       cutoff was constructed through Silver Creek Canyon by 1862,
       diverting much of the traffic on what is today the route of
       Interstate Highway 80.
     * Emigration Canyon (Donner Hill) (1283 miles west) - About a year
       before the Latter-day Saint emigrants, the Reed-Donner wagon train
       carved the first road through the final geographic obstacle between
       Big Mountain and the Salt Lake Valley. About half way through, the
       group changed course and went up and around the final constriction
       near the valley's mouth. The resulting exhaustingly brutal climb
       over rock and sage most likely contributed to the historic tragedy
       that befell the travelers three months and 600 miles to the west.
       When an advance team from the Latter-day Saint vanguard company
       came through, it chose to stick to the valley floor and hacked its
       way through to the bench overlooking the Great Salt Lake basin in
       less than four hours.
     * Salt Lake Valley (1297 miles west) - Although the Salt Lake Valley
       had a special meaning to each emigrant, signifying the end of more
       than a year of crossing the plains, not all of the pioneering
       Saints settled in the Salt Lake Valley. Settlement outside the Salt
       Lake Valley began as early as 1848, with a number of communities
       planted in the Weber valley to the north. Additional townsites were
       carefully chosen, with settlements placed near canyon mouths with
       access to dependable streams and stands of timber. Latter-day
       Saints founded more than 600 communities from Canada down into
       Mexico. As historian Wallace Stegner stated, the Latter-day Saints
       "were one of the principal forces in the settlement of the West."

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