THE MORMON PIONEER TRAIL

The trunk of the corridor generally followed the Platte and North Platte rivers for more than 600 miles, then paralleled the Sweetwater River before crossing the Continental Divide at South Pass. Beyond South Pass the route divided several times, each branch pioneered by emigrants seeking a better way to various destinations. The route's importance declined with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 but continued to receive limited use into the early 1900s.

An Exodus

From 1846 to 1869, more than 70,000 Mormons traveled along an integral part of the road west, the Mormon Pioneer Trail. The trail started in Nauvoo, Illinois, traveled across Iowa, connected with the Great Platte River Road at the Missouri River, and ended near the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Generally following pre-existing routes, the trail carried tens of thousands of Mormon emigrants to a new home and refuge in the Great Basin. From their labors arose the State of Deseret, later to become the Utah Territory, and finally the State of Utah.

THE TRAIL EXPERIENCE
The Mormon pioneers shared similar experiences with others traveling west: the drudgery of walking hundreds of miles, suffocating dust, violent thunderstorms, mud, temperature extremes, bad water, poor forage, sickness, and death. They recorded their experiences in journals, diaries, and letters that have become a part of our national heritage.

The Mormons, however, were a unique part of this migration. Their move to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake was not entirely voluntary, but to maintain a religious and cultural identity it was necessary to find an isolated area where they could permanently settle and practice their religion in peace. This was a movement of an entire people, an entire religion, and an entire culture driven by religious fervor and determination.

February 4, 1846. First wagons leave Nauvoo, Illinois, and cross the Mississippi River. "The great severity of the weather, and...the difficulty of crossing the river during many days of running ice, all combined to delay our departure, though for several days the bridge of ice across the Mississippi greatly facilitated the crossing." BRIGHAM YOUNG, February 28, 1846

The Mormon pioneers learned quickly to be well-organized. They traveled in semi-military fashion, grouped into companies of 100s, 50s, and 10s. Discipline, hard work, mutual assistance, and devotional practices were part of their daily routine on the trail. Knowing that others would follow, they improved the trail and built support facilities. Businesses, such as ferries, were established to help finance the movement. They did not hire professional guides. Instead, they followed existing trails, used maps and accounts of early explorers, and gathered information from travelers and frontiersmen they met along the way.

An early odometer was designed and built to record their mileage while traveling on the trail. In the end, strong group unity and organization made the Mormon movement more orderly and efficient than other emigrants traveling to Oregon and California.

THE MORMON CHURCH
The Mormon pioneer experience is closely tied to the formation, growth, and development of their church, which was founded by Joseph Smith, April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York. Within a few years it was known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to the accounts of Mormon history, Joseph Smith translated a document from golden plates given to him by an angel. This document, The Book of Mormon, became the cornerstone of the new religion, and the name Mormon was applied to those who subscribed to these beliefs.

The church headquarters subsequently moved to Ohio, Missouri, and, in the spring of 1839 to Nauvoo, Illinois. It remained there until 1846, when the church moved beyond the Rocky Mountains into then unsettled Mexican territory in the Great Basin. There, Mormon leaders hoped to be insulated from further harassment, antagonism, and persecution.

Membership grew rapidly from 1830 to 1845, and the church prospered. Hostility, fear, and controversy, however, surrounded the church. The rapid growth of church membership, the financial success of the members and their church, religious beliefs that were outside mainstream Christian tradition, the practice of plural marriage (polygamy), a large well-armed militia, the blurring of lines between church and state, and the perception by some non-Mormons that the church was a threat all fueled intolerance. Hostilities escalated, and on June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by an angry mob while jailed in Carthage, Illinois.

Picture: at left, Joseph Smith - at right, Brigham Young

Joseph Smith's 1827 vision led to the organization of the Mormon Church. From 1839 to 1846 they lived and prospered in Nauvoo, IL.
(Smith was killed June 27, 1844)
Brigham Young
(Smith's successor 1844)
(Courtesy: Daughters of Utah Pioneers)

A move to the Far West had been discussed by church leaders as early as 1842, with Oregon, California, and Texas considered as potential destinations. In 1844, Joseph Smith obtained John C. Fremont's map and report, which described the Great Salt Lake and its surrounding fertile valleys. Subsequently, the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin became the prime candidates for settlement.

Heading West

THE TREK OF 1846
The departure from Nauvoo began on February 4, 1846, under the leadership of Brigham Young, who succeeded Joseph Smith as leader of the Mormon Church. After crossing the Mississippi River, the journey across Iowa followed primitive territorial roads and Indian trails. The initial party reached the Missouri River on June 14 of that year, having taken more than four months to complete the trip. Some of the emigrants established a settlement called Kanesville on the Iowa side of the river. Others moved across the river into the area of present-day (north) Omaha, Nebraska, building a camp called Winter Quarters.

The Mormons left Nauvoo earlier than planned because of the revocation of their city charter, growing rumors of U.S. government intervention, and fears that federal troops would march on the city. This early departure exposed them to the elements in the worst of winter. Heavy rains later turned the rolling plains of southern Iowa into a quagmire of axle-deep mud. Furthermore, few people carried adequate provisions for the trip. The weather, general unpreparedness, and lack of experience in moving such a large group of people, all contributed to the difficulties they endured.

Along the first part of the trail, the Mormons developed skills for moving en masse. They established several semi-permanent camps, including Garden Grove and Mount Pisgah, where they planted crops and built facilities to assist those who followed. It was during this leg of the journey that Brigham Young first organized them into companies of 100s, 50s and 10s. The lessons learned crossing Iowa were used by future companies of Mormons.

June 14, 1846. Brigham Young arrives at the banks of the Missouri River. September 1846. Winter Quarters is set up on the Nebraska shore of the Missouri. Approximately 4,000 people spent the winter here. November 1846. Father Pierre de Smet, a Jesuit missionary visits the Mormons in Winter Quarters and provides information about the Great Basin area. April 5, 1847. The first group, led by Brigham Young, leaves Winter Quarters.

The Trek of 1847
The longest leg of the journey began at Winter Quarters on April 5, 1847, when Brigham Young entered Valley of the Great Salt Lake. The trip went smoother than the previous year's journey because the Mormons were better organized, had better provisions, and began the trek when trail conditions were optimal. The lead pioneer party left with 148 people (143 men, 3 women, and 2 young boys), 72 wagons, 93 horses, 66 oxen, 52 mules, 19 cows, 17 dogs, and some chickens. This hand-picked group was organized into two large divisions and further split into companies of 50 and 10. This organizational structure was based on Brigham Young's plan for migrating west. The plan also included details on camp behavior and devotional practices to be followed during the journey.

I walked some this afternoon in company with Orson Pratte and suggested to him the idea of fixing a set of wooden cog wheels to the hub of a wagon wheel, in such order as to tell the exact number of miles we traveled each day. WILLIAM CLAYTON, April 19, 1847

Picture: river crossing.

The Welsh-English dictionary (top) accompanied its owners across an ocean and three-quarters of a continent. The harshness of the weather in winter quarters comes through clearly in this painting (left).
(Courtesy: Jeanette Taggart Holmes)
Oscar Pratt's sextant (far lower left) and an axle grease bucket (lower right) were needed on the journey west. The painting shows the crossing of the Platte River in 1847.
(Courtesy: Daugthers of Utah Pioneers)

June 27, 1847. Mormons cross South Pass, the Continental Divide. "In advance of us, at a great distance can be seen the outlines of mountains, loftier than any we have yet seen...their summits...covered with snow." HORACE WHITNEY, June 23, 1847

At Fort Bridger, they left the Oregon Trail and struck out on their own following a route first recommended by California promoter Lansford Hastings and pioneered in 1846 by four companies of emigrants bound for California. These four companies blazed two different routes into the Salt Lake Valley. The Mormons followed the faint, year-old track of the ill-fated Donner-Reed party through the Wasatch Mountains.

Picture: Spinning wheel

The spinning wheel was a necessary tool for those who wanted to create a self-sufficient community beyond the Rocky Mountains.
The Piano also crossed the plains on the Mormon Trail.

July 24, 1847. Brigham Young arrives in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake "...and beholding in a moment such an extensive scenery open before us, we could not refrain from a shout of joy which almost involuntarily escaped from our lips the moment this grand and lovely scenery was within our view." ORSON PRATT, July 21, 1847

The pioneer party began planting late crops as soon as they reached the valley. During the next few weeks, they laid out streets, built temporary shelters, and prepared for winter. Mormon emigrants continued to arrive during the remaining weeks of summer and fall, and approximately 1,650 people spent their first winter in the valley. Shortly after their arrival, Brigham Young and many members of the pioneer party made the return trip to Winter Quarters to be with their families and to help organize the next spring's migration to the valley.

The next 20 years would see about 70,000 Mormons traveling by wagons and handcarts to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Overland wagon travel declined after the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, when emigrants could travel across the plains by rail.

The Ones Who Walked

Scandinavian Pioneers pulled their handcarts 1,300 miles across the plains to the valley of the Great Salt Lake.

The handcarts were modeled after carts used by street sweepers and were made almost entirely of wood. They were generally 6 to 7 feet long, wide enough to span a narrow wagon track and could be alternatively pushed or pulled. The small boxes affixed to the carts were 3 to 4 feet long and 8 inches high. They could carry about 500 pounds, most of this weight consisting of trail provisions and a few personal possessions.

All but two of the handcart companies completed the journey with few problems. The fourth and fifth companies, known as the Martin and Willie companies, left Winter Quarters in August 1856. This was very late to begin the trip across the plains. They encountered severe winter weather west of present-day Casper, Wyoming, and hundreds died from exposure and famine before rescue parties could reach them. While these incidents were a rarity, they illustrate that the departure date from the trailhead was crucial to a successful journey.

The Mormon Pioneer Trail

Much of the trail is no longer visible, though some trail segments and sites can be visited. Long stretches of the trail can still be seen in Wyoming. A map of the historic route and sites can be obtained from any one of the mentioned public service organizations. If you want to visit sites on private land you must obtain the landowner's permission.

Note: The comments written above in Italic are actual quotations taken from contemporary diaries and letters describing those years. All the objects shown here made the journey across the trail.

The walkers hope to arrive in Salt Lake City on July 22, two days before Pioneer Day, Utah's state holiday that commemorates the original pioneers' arrival at the Great Salt Lake valley.