The Global Church in 1910
By the end of the nineteenth century, missionary work had expanded from its nadir in the 1870s to include the entire United States, most of Europe, Australia and the Pacific, and South Africa. Although missions were intermittently opened and closed in places like France and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), depending on changing government policies, the Church was beginning to establish a permanent presence around the world, which would become much more prominent by the 1950s.
Brandon Plewe
Gathering to Utah
Gathering to Utah was influenced by an “emigration revelation” received by Brigham Young near the banks of the Missouri River at Winter Quarters on January 14, 1847 (D&C 136:1). This instruction not only provided a much-needed administrative map to guide the Mormon pioneers across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley but also provided a divine pattern of principles and promises for all segments of the journey, whether it be by sail, rail, or trail.
Experienced leaders, such as returning missionaries, guided the Saints across the ocean, the eastern United States, and the Great Plains. LDS agents at Liverpool, New Orleans (1840–55), New York (1855–89), and frontier outfitting posts chartered transportation and offered provisions and trail supplies. Church leaders published updated travel guidelines in LDS periodicals such as the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, The Mormon (New York), the St. Louis Luminary, and The Frontier Guardian (Kanesville).
The rise of steam power greatly aided the Mormon gathering. After 1867, Latter-day Saints traveled by steamships, which were much faster than sailing vessels. Railroads were taken as far west as they went; when the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, Latter-day Saint converts were able to cross the ocean and the eastern United States and reach Utah in about three weeks. This was in stark contrast to the earlier sailing voyage of a month (to New York) or two (to New Orleans) and several months to cross the United States by boat, wagon, and foot.
Experienced leaders, such as returning missionaries, guided the Saints across the ocean, the eastern United States, and the Great Plains. LDS agents at Liverpool, New Orleans (1840–55), New York (1855–89), and frontier outfitting posts chartered transportation and offered provisions and trail supplies. Church leaders published updated travel guidelines in LDS periodicals such as the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, The Mormon (New York), the St. Louis Luminary, and The Frontier Guardian (Kanesville).
The rise of steam power greatly aided the Mormon gathering. After 1867, Latter-day Saints traveled by steamships, which were much faster than sailing vessels. Railroads were taken as far west as they went; when the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, Latter-day Saint converts were able to cross the ocean and the eastern United States and reach Utah in about three weeks. This was in stark contrast to the earlier sailing voyage of a month (to New York) or two (to New Orleans) and several months to cross the United States by boat, wagon, and foot.
Brandon Plewe
Immigration to Nauvoo
Immigration to Nauvoo began with a company of 40 British converts aboard the new ship RMS Britannia on June 6, 1840, led by English convert John Moon. After entering the United States at New York on July 20, the group divided. Some traveled via the Erie Canal and Great Lakes, reaching Nauvoo in early fall (the same route taken by the second British company a few months later); the others traveled through Philadelphia, Pittsburgh (where they were forced to spend the winter), and St. Louis, before arriving in Nauvoo on April 16, 1841. A third 1840 company sailed to New Orleans then took a riverboat to Nauvoo.
This third route turned out to be the fastest and cheapest, and almost all Nauvoo-era emigrants used it, traveling as large companies organized by Church agents in Liverpool and New Orleans. Occasionally, small groups traveled by their own means and by their own routes, such as three groups in 1841 that sailed from Bristol to Quebec. In total, nearly five thousand British Saints sailed to Nauvoo between 1840 and 1846 on 34 Mormon company voyages and 13 additional LDS voyages not chartered by the Church.
After arriving in Nauvoo in the first company, Francis Moon wrote back to his native homeland in England (published in the Millennial Star) to describe the favorable temporal and spiritual conditions that now surrounded him at Nauvoo. He referred to Nauvoo as a refuge in the troubled last days, further noting that a purpose of gathering the people of God in any age was to “build a sanctuary to the name of the Most High.” Moon’s glad tidings to his British homeland, other letters from early LDS immigrants, and counsel from general Church leaders encouraged the British Saints to gather.
This third route turned out to be the fastest and cheapest, and almost all Nauvoo-era emigrants used it, traveling as large companies organized by Church agents in Liverpool and New Orleans. Occasionally, small groups traveled by their own means and by their own routes, such as three groups in 1841 that sailed from Bristol to Quebec. In total, nearly five thousand British Saints sailed to Nauvoo between 1840 and 1846 on 34 Mormon company voyages and 13 additional LDS voyages not chartered by the Church.
After arriving in Nauvoo in the first company, Francis Moon wrote back to his native homeland in England (published in the Millennial Star) to describe the favorable temporal and spiritual conditions that now surrounded him at Nauvoo. He referred to Nauvoo as a refuge in the troubled last days, further noting that a purpose of gathering the people of God in any age was to “build a sanctuary to the name of the Most High.” Moon’s glad tidings to his British homeland, other letters from early LDS immigrants, and counsel from general Church leaders encouraged the British Saints to gather.
Brandon Plewe
Missions to the Lamanites
The first LDS mission to American Indians commenced soon after the Church was established in 1830. Called by revelation, several elders traveled west in October, where they spent one day with the Cattaraugus tribe near Buffalo, New York, then on to Ohio, where they visited “for several days” with Wyandots near Sandusky. They next traveled to Missouri, “crossed the frontier” (into Kansas Territory) for a very brief visit with the Shawnees, then on “across the Kansas River,” where they spent several very successful days with the Delaware chief and his people until “ordered out of Indian country” by government authorities.
Further missionary work with American Indians was curtailed thereafter owing primarily to the serious difficulties experienced by the Saints in Ohio and Missouri commencing in 1831. Minimal contact with Native Americans recommenced when the Saints removed west after being forced out of Illinois in 1846. The next attempt at missionary work among Indians was in the mid-1850s, when missions, or mission farms, were established among the Shoshone near Ft. Bridger; Bannocks at Fort Limhi on the Salmon River; Paiutes at Las Vegas Springs, Nevada; and Utes near Moab, Utah. All these were abandoned under hostile pressure by 1858. Mission and farm efforts to make accommodation with surrounding Indian tribes (including Goshutes, Navajos, Hopis, Zunis, Sioux, and Assiniboins) continued sporadically throughout the nineteenth century and into the first half of the twentieth century, again with minimal results.
Further missionary work with American Indians was curtailed thereafter owing primarily to the serious difficulties experienced by the Saints in Ohio and Missouri commencing in 1831. Minimal contact with Native Americans recommenced when the Saints removed west after being forced out of Illinois in 1846. The next attempt at missionary work among Indians was in the mid-1850s, when missions, or mission farms, were established among the Shoshone near Ft. Bridger; Bannocks at Fort Limhi on the Salmon River; Paiutes at Las Vegas Springs, Nevada; and Utes near Moab, Utah. All these were abandoned under hostile pressure by 1858. Mission and farm efforts to make accommodation with surrounding Indian tribes (including Goshutes, Navajos, Hopis, Zunis, Sioux, and Assiniboins) continued sporadically throughout the nineteenth century and into the first half of the twentieth century, again with minimal results.
Brandon Plewe
The 1849 Mission Plan
In 1849, Brigham Young announced a grand plan for expanding global missionary work, assigning each Apostle to a section of the world (foreshadowing the area system of the latter twentieth century) and sending them out with many other missionaries to open new countries.
The focus on Europe may have been inspired by the wave of revolutionary movements there in 1848. In 1849 the Italian, French, and Scandinavian missions were opened; in 1850 missionaries were in Switzerland and Hawaii. Apostle Parley P. Pratt, assigned to the presidency of the Pacific Region, visited Chile in 1851, published the first Spanish language tract in 1852, and sent missionaries again to Australia in 1853. In 1852 additional missionaries were called to Gibraltar, South Africa,
India, Ceylon, Siam (Thailand), and Hong Kong.
While most of these initial attempts met with limited success, major long-term centers were opened in Europe (especially Scandinavia and Switzerland) and the Pacific (especially Australia).
The focus on Europe may have been inspired by the wave of revolutionary movements there in 1848. In 1849 the Italian, French, and Scandinavian missions were opened; in 1850 missionaries were in Switzerland and Hawaii. Apostle Parley P. Pratt, assigned to the presidency of the Pacific Region, visited Chile in 1851, published the first Spanish language tract in 1852, and sent missionaries again to Australia in 1853. In 1852 additional missionaries were called to Gibraltar, South Africa,
India, Ceylon, Siam (Thailand), and Hong Kong.
While most of these initial attempts met with limited success, major long-term centers were opened in Europe (especially Scandinavia and Switzerland) and the Pacific (especially Australia).
Brandon Plewe
The Demographics of Missionaries
The demographics of missionaries in the nineteenth century were quite different than today’s young elders and sisters. They were typically married men, called from the quorums of elders and Seventies. Each served for as long as he could, typically one to three years. Statistics have shown that younger men tended to serve longer missions to more remote countries (at the extreme, missionaries to the Pacific Islands averaged 30 years old and served an average of 35 months), while older men tended to serve shorter missions within the United States (where the average missionary was 40 years old, serving for 10 months). From 1860 though the 1880s, most missionaries were called to Europe until work in the United States was reopened in earnest by President Wilford Woodruff.
Brandon Plewe
Modes of Transportation on the Trail
During the early part of the exodus, most of the European Mormons entered the United States through the port of New Orleans and then made their way up the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers by riverboats to the outfitting posts. However, cholera and malaria took a heavy toll among these European converts, and a wagon team was often prohibitively expensive for the poor immigrants.
In 1856, Brigham Young introduced a new innovative solution, handcarts. Five companies made the journey that first year, followed by two in 1857, one in 1859, and two in 1860, the last two leaving from Florence, Nebraska, rather than Iowa City, because by that time the rail line had reached Omaha.
The second major innovation began in 1861 after a private wagon freight train was able to make the 1,000-mile trip both directions in one season. This approach reduced costs, improved safety (since experienced drivers drove the wagons), and reduced the large surplus of wagons and oxen accumulating in Salt Lake City. The Church called on bishops and stake presidents to recruit experienced men with teams and wagons to go to the Missouri River and bring the European converts to Zion. From then until the coming of the railroad, almost all pioneers traveled by these down-and-back companies. In 1865 and 1867, a combination of the Black Hawk War and social and economic stresses in Utah made it too difficult to send any two-way wagon trains to pick up new immigrants, and immigration was reduced to a trickle.
In 1856, Brigham Young introduced a new innovative solution, handcarts. Five companies made the journey that first year, followed by two in 1857, one in 1859, and two in 1860, the last two leaving from Florence, Nebraska, rather than Iowa City, because by that time the rail line had reached Omaha.
The second major innovation began in 1861 after a private wagon freight train was able to make the 1,000-mile trip both directions in one season. This approach reduced costs, improved safety (since experienced drivers drove the wagons), and reduced the large surplus of wagons and oxen accumulating in Salt Lake City. The Church called on bishops and stake presidents to recruit experienced men with teams and wagons to go to the Missouri River and bring the European converts to Zion. From then until the coming of the railroad, almost all pioneers traveled by these down-and-back companies. In 1865 and 1867, a combination of the Black Hawk War and social and economic stresses in Utah made it too difficult to send any two-way wagon trains to pick up new immigrants, and immigration was reduced to a trickle.
Brandon Plewe
Variant Pioneer Trails
Between 1847 and 1869, a wide variety of outfitting posts were used for organizing and equipping the pioneer companies. Some years, small companies started their trek from very different starting points, including several from California and four that began in southern Texas. The latter were composed of Texas converts to Mormonism and European convertswho had migrated from New Orleans seeking employment. The locations changed for various reasons, but economics was the primary factor. The cost of purchasing and collecting the wagons and oxen was substantial, and when the organizers felt that the local merchants were charging unreasonable rates, they found a new location where expenses could be reduced. Some posts were used exclusively by Mormon agents, while others were shared with emigrants to California and Oregon.
Brandon Plewe, Wayne Wahlquist
Settlements in the Middle Missouri Valley
During the summer of 1846, the 10,000 pioneers at the Grand Encampment exhausted local resources and were forced to move to Winter Quarters or find whatever locations on the Iowa side of the river that provided adequate supplies for themselves and their livestock. The bluffs along the river and the prairie to the east contained thick deposits of loess, fertile silt blown from Nebraska at the end of the Ice Age, on which the Saints were able to produce bounteous crops. They built at least 60 settlements, even though they could not yet purchase the land from the federal government (until 1853). Most settlements were only scattered clusters of farms, but the tight-knit communities typically had well-organized branches of the Church. Kanesville was a sizable market town of perhaps 2,000 residents, with hotels, stores, and a newspaper.
In 1848, the new State of Iowa began to organize counties in its southwestern corner, most led by Mormon officials at first. The Church also had a regional ecclesiastical organization (like an unofficial stake) with a high council presided over by Apostle Orson Hyde. It was in his home in December 1847 (more than three years after the death of Joseph Smith) that Brigham Young was chosen to be the second President of the Church.
Perhaps 700 of the Mormon settlers decided to stay rather than follow Brigham Young, and several families returned from the Salt Lake Valley, disaffected with either the Church or the dry steppes of Utah. These families were an early focus of the followers of Joseph Smith III, and soon the area had a dozen or more RLDS branches.
In 1848, the new State of Iowa began to organize counties in its southwestern corner, most led by Mormon officials at first. The Church also had a regional ecclesiastical organization (like an unofficial stake) with a high council presided over by Apostle Orson Hyde. It was in his home in December 1847 (more than three years after the death of Joseph Smith) that Brigham Young was chosen to be the second President of the Church.
Perhaps 700 of the Mormon settlers decided to stay rather than follow Brigham Young, and several families returned from the Salt Lake Valley, disaffected with either the Church or the dry steppes of Utah. These families were an early focus of the followers of Joseph Smith III, and soon the area had a dozen or more RLDS branches.
Brandon Plewe, Gail Holmes
Spring and Fall Exodus, May–November
Perhaps 12,000 Saints left for the West during the second wave of migration in April, May, and June 1846, once the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated and grass began growing on Iowa’s prairies. Unlike the Camp of Israel, they traveled not in one large company but separately as families or small groups as soon as they were ready. White-topped wagons dotted the green prairies. Most traveled on better, more direct routes than the first company, requiring only a month or less to cross Iowa. In fact, the routes were so much better that spring emigrants began catching up to the Camp of Israel at Mt. Pisgah. By July 1st, Brigham Young, who had started with 500 wagons, counted 1,800 wagons between Pisgah and Council Bluffs, with more coming.
That September, mobs forced Nauvoo’s last 700 or so Mormons across the Mississippi River. Half of them lacked means to go west, so they lingered in “poor camps” in the swamps along the Iowa shore of the river. Exposed and hungry, they experienced a “miracle” when weary quail flopped into their camp one day. Rescue wagon companies from Council Bluffs and Garden Grove soon arrived to bring them west. By October, Nauvoo was bereft of Mormons and became a partial ghost town filled with vacant houses and untended gardens, orchards, and farms.
That September, mobs forced Nauvoo’s last 700 or so Mormons across the Mississippi River. Half of them lacked means to go west, so they lingered in “poor camps” in the swamps along the Iowa shore of the river. Exposed and hungry, they experienced a “miracle” when weary quail flopped into their camp one day. Rescue wagon companies from Council Bluffs and Garden Grove soon arrived to bring them west. By October, Nauvoo was bereft of Mormons and became a partial ghost town filled with vacant houses and untended gardens, orchards, and farms.
Brandon Plewe, William G. Hartley
Saints Enter Council Bluffs
When Brigham Young’s company reached the Missouri River in mid-June, they camped on the bluffs while they planned their next move. The next month Captain James Allen mustered about 500 men to serve in the Mexican War. Then Church leaders built a unique ferry that was guided diagonally downstream both ways by hemp cables, which were then used to haul it back upstream.
Five successive camps were made west of the Missouri River in 1846 as the plan to send at least a few pioneers to the Rocky Mountains that summer was shelved. A winter campsite at Cutler’s Park was established by an agreement with the Otoe-Missouria and Omaha tribes. However, when the two nations began to quarrel over which had right to the land (and therefore the Saints’ rent), LDS scouts found a better site on unclaimed land and soon laid out the city of Winter Quarters.
Meanwhile, on the east side of the river, thousands of weary Saints continued to arrive. By late summer they had formed a nine-mile-long “Grand Encampment” in the hills southeast of today’s Council Bluffs, Iowa, where they waited for further instructions. They soon ran out of nearby wood, while their extensive herds of livestock quickly cropped off most of the lush grass. When the creeks and springs dried in the heat of summer, they were forced to find more permanent places to settle, either in Winter Quarters or scattered across southwestern Iowa.
Five successive camps were made west of the Missouri River in 1846 as the plan to send at least a few pioneers to the Rocky Mountains that summer was shelved. A winter campsite at Cutler’s Park was established by an agreement with the Otoe-Missouria and Omaha tribes. However, when the two nations began to quarrel over which had right to the land (and therefore the Saints’ rent), LDS scouts found a better site on unclaimed land and soon laid out the city of Winter Quarters.
Meanwhile, on the east side of the river, thousands of weary Saints continued to arrive. By late summer they had formed a nine-mile-long “Grand Encampment” in the hills southeast of today’s Council Bluffs, Iowa, where they waited for further instructions. They soon ran out of nearby wood, while their extensive herds of livestock quickly cropped off most of the lush grass. When the creeks and springs dried in the heat of summer, they were forced to find more permanent places to settle, either in Winter Quarters or scattered across southwestern Iowa.
Brandon Plewe, William G. Hartley
Incidence of Plural Marriage in 1870
The incidence of polygamy in 1870 shown on this map began as part of a project revisiting Twelve Mormon Homes, a book published by Elizabeth W. Kane, wife of Colonel Thomas L. Kane, a year after their journey from Salt Lake City to St. George in 1872–73. Another 45 towns were added to the 12 featured in Mrs. Kane’s book, many of them settlements mentioned by her in passing. Since the 1870 federal census did not identify each individual’s relationship to the head of household, it proved impossible to determine everyone’s marital status—making calculations subject to a ±3–5% margin of error.
That said, the map clearly shows that the influence of polygamy varied greatly, from 7% in Coalville to 68% in Bellevue (now Pintura). In tiny towns like the latter, one plural family could skew the figure significantly. Also, since most polygamists did not take a second wife for the first 5 to 15 years of their married life, towns with a high proportion of younger couples usually had fewer plural families. That may explain Hyde Park’s lower percentage, compared to Logan’s and Wellsville’s in 1870, even though Stake President Charles O. Card labeled it Cache Valley’s most polygamous place for its size in 1887.
That said, the map clearly shows that the influence of polygamy varied greatly, from 7% in Coalville to 68% in Bellevue (now Pintura). In tiny towns like the latter, one plural family could skew the figure significantly. Also, since most polygamists did not take a second wife for the first 5 to 15 years of their married life, towns with a high proportion of younger couples usually had fewer plural families. That may explain Hyde Park’s lower percentage, compared to Logan’s and Wellsville’s in 1870, even though Stake President Charles O. Card labeled it Cache Valley’s most polygamous place for its size in 1887.
Mapping Mormonism p.123
Settling the Wasatch Front
Early Land Surveys in the Salt Lake Valley
Pioneer Arrival in the Salt Lake Valley
Looking south over Meridian Peak across the Salt Lake Valley as it probably looked when the Mormon pioneers arrived in 1847. The valley was predominantly covered in tall prairie grass, with groves of willows, cottonwoods and box elder trees in the streambeds. The northwest part of the valley was less hospitable, with poor soil, alkaline deposits, salt marshes, and brackish ponds (such as Decker Lake, visible to the right). It was dotted with campsites utilized intermittently by Utes and Shoshones.
July 22: (1) George A. Smith and Orson Pratt climb Donner Hill and get the first view of the valley. (2) they lead the advance party down to a creek (now 1700 S 500 E) to camp.
July 23: (3) Men explore northward as far as the Hot Springs. (4) The camp moves to a better creek (City Creek, near 300 S State), where they begin digging irrigation ditches and planting potatoes
July 24: (5) Brigham Young and the sick party enter the valley and come to the new camp
July 25, Sunday: The pioneers rest and worship
July 26: (6) Young and eight others climb Ensign Peak to survey the valley and plan the city.
July 27: (7) Young and others. explore westward to the edge of Tooele Valley and swim in the Great Salt Lake. Meanwhile, the first of the combined Battalion detachment and Mississippi Company arrive from Pueblo.
July 28: (8) Orson Pratt leads a group up Traverse Mountain to see Utah Valley. (9) Young identifies the site of the future temple.
August: Orson Pratt calculates the coordinates and elevation of the temple site, then begins to survey the city lots. (10) A semipermanent fort is built (now Pioneer Park). Wayne Wahlquist
July 22: (1) George A. Smith and Orson Pratt climb Donner Hill and get the first view of the valley. (2) they lead the advance party down to a creek (now 1700 S 500 E) to camp.
July 23: (3) Men explore northward as far as the Hot Springs. (4) The camp moves to a better creek (City Creek, near 300 S State), where they begin digging irrigation ditches and planting potatoes
July 24: (5) Brigham Young and the sick party enter the valley and come to the new camp
July 25, Sunday: The pioneers rest and worship
July 26: (6) Young and eight others climb Ensign Peak to survey the valley and plan the city.
July 27: (7) Young and others. explore westward to the edge of Tooele Valley and swim in the Great Salt Lake. Meanwhile, the first of the combined Battalion detachment and Mississippi Company arrive from Pueblo.
July 28: (8) Orson Pratt leads a group up Traverse Mountain to see Utah Valley. (9) Young identifies the site of the future temple.
August: Orson Pratt calculates the coordinates and elevation of the temple site, then begins to survey the city lots. (10) A semipermanent fort is built (now Pioneer Park). Wayne Wahlquist
Brandon Plewe, Mapping Mormonism p.81
Timeline of the Handcart Rescue
A timeline of the 1856 Handcart Rescue that did not make it into the atlas, but I believe is very explanatory.
Pioneer Explorers of Utah
Travels of John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow
Travels of Joseph F. Smith
During his 17 years as President of the Church (1901–18), Joseph F. Smith traveled extensively within the United States and beyond. Some trips were to conduct Church business, such as the congressional hearings on whether Reed Smoot was entitled to serve in the U.S. Senate (he eventually was allowed). This trip and another to the eastern states to dedicate the first Church-owned monument at a Church history site (and to visit other sites) were important to the goal of President Smith (the first second-generation member to become prophet) to improve the image and standing of the Church in America.
In 1906, Joseph F. Smith became the first Church President to travel to Europe while serving as President; he strove to meet local members and missionaries, as have other Presidents. While in Bern, Switzerland, Joseph F. Smith prophesied that “the time will come when this land [Europe] will be dotted with temples,” which would be fulfilled almost 50 years later. This prophecy was important to President Smith’s goal of slowing the Gathering and strengthening the Church beyond Utah. President Smith made four trips to his beloved Hawaii (where he had served several missions) for various purposes, including dedicating a site for a temple that he would not live to see completed.
In 1906, Joseph F. Smith became the first Church President to travel to Europe while serving as President; he strove to meet local members and missionaries, as have other Presidents. While in Bern, Switzerland, Joseph F. Smith prophesied that “the time will come when this land [Europe] will be dotted with temples,” which would be fulfilled almost 50 years later. This prophecy was important to President Smith’s goal of slowing the Gathering and strengthening the Church beyond Utah. President Smith made four trips to his beloved Hawaii (where he had served several missions) for various purposes, including dedicating a site for a temple that he would not live to see completed.
Brandon Plewe, Mapping Mormonism p.131
The Handcart Trail
The handcart trail essentially began in Liverpool, England. Church members from Great Britain, Scandinavia, and parts of Europe met there and sailed to the United States together in Church-chartered ships. The emigrants traveled steerage to minimize expenses. The voyage took four to seven weeks or longer.
Landing at New York, Boston, or Philadelphia, the immigrants piled into railroad cars, often little better than cattle cars, and traveled immigrant class about eight days to the Mormon outfitting camps. Occasionally steamboats provided part of the transportation.
In 1856 and 1857, the outfitting campground was outside of Iowa City, Iowa, the terminus of the railroad. The travelers then tugged their carts across Iowa and re-supplied at Florence, Nebraska. In 1859 and 1860, they got all the way to Florence by train and steamboats, which saved them nearly 300 miles of walking with their carts in Iowa’s intense summer heat and humidity. At the outfitting post, all companies experienced a wait of one to six weeks as carts were built and preparations made.
The handcart route from Florence ran on the north side of the Platte River, then followed the north side of the North Platte River to Fort Laramie, where it crossed to the south side. (The Willie and Martin companies of 1856 crossed to the south side of the North Platte just west of the confluence of the two forks of the Platte River.) In eastern Wyoming, the handcart pioneers followed the trail along the river, crossing it twice, then forded it one last time to the north side at today’s city of Casper. Then the immigrants cut across country to the Sweetwater River, along which they traveled, crossing it nine times before reaching South Pass. In 1856, some of the companies traveled the Seminoe Cutoff on the south side of the Sweetwater. From South Pass, the trail followed the Big Sandy River to the Green River, then to Fort Bridger, down Echo Canyon, and over the Wasatch Mountains. Most companies entered the Salt Lake Valley through Emigration Canyon, except the 1860 companies, which went down Parley’s Canyon to the City of the Saints.
Landing at New York, Boston, or Philadelphia, the immigrants piled into railroad cars, often little better than cattle cars, and traveled immigrant class about eight days to the Mormon outfitting camps. Occasionally steamboats provided part of the transportation.
In 1856 and 1857, the outfitting campground was outside of Iowa City, Iowa, the terminus of the railroad. The travelers then tugged their carts across Iowa and re-supplied at Florence, Nebraska. In 1859 and 1860, they got all the way to Florence by train and steamboats, which saved them nearly 300 miles of walking with their carts in Iowa’s intense summer heat and humidity. At the outfitting post, all companies experienced a wait of one to six weeks as carts were built and preparations made.
The handcart route from Florence ran on the north side of the Platte River, then followed the north side of the North Platte River to Fort Laramie, where it crossed to the south side. (The Willie and Martin companies of 1856 crossed to the south side of the North Platte just west of the confluence of the two forks of the Platte River.) In eastern Wyoming, the handcart pioneers followed the trail along the river, crossing it twice, then forded it one last time to the north side at today’s city of Casper. Then the immigrants cut across country to the Sweetwater River, along which they traveled, crossing it nine times before reaching South Pass. In 1856, some of the companies traveled the Seminoe Cutoff on the south side of the Sweetwater. From South Pass, the trail followed the Big Sandy River to the Green River, then to Fort Bridger, down Echo Canyon, and over the Wasatch Mountains. Most companies entered the Salt Lake Valley through Emigration Canyon, except the 1860 companies, which went down Parley’s Canyon to the City of the Saints.
Brandon Plewe, Mapping Mormonism p.107
Downtown Salt Lake City in 1950
Colonizing the Intermountain West
The Camp of Israel crosses Iowa, February-June 1846
In October 1845, the Twelve announced plans to evacuate Nauvoo the next spring and seek a homeland in the West. About 17,000 Saints in the Nauvoo region had six months to get ready. Saints struggled to sell properties and construct or purchase wagons, teams, and provisions for the trek west. Plans called for at least 2,500 wagons evacuating the city.
By January 1846, rumors that the Twelve might be arrested or prevented from leaving caused them to leave early as a vanguard company with anyone ready to go. During February some 2,500 Saints gathered at the Sugar Creek encampment in Iowa (1), whom Young organized as a “Camp of Israel," departing March 1. Spring rain and mud slowed the way, forcing the Camp to take 3.5 months to cover the 300 miles to the Missouri River.
Initially they passed along existing roads. During extended stops (2), men worked for locals; for example, the brass band performed for pay in Keosauqua. The company hugged the Missouri border so they could trade with settlers to the south for livestock feed. Deciding not to cross northern Missouri (in which Mormons were still in danger) as originally planned, they turned northwest on April 12 (4) toward the Council Bluffs area, blazing a new trail. At this turning point, William Clayton wrote the hymn “Come, Come, Ye Saints” (5). Moving on, they created Garden Grove (6: April 24) and Mount Pisgah (7: May 26) as temporary settlements for those without means to continue, eventually reaching the Missouri River in mid-June (8). William G. Hartley
By January 1846, rumors that the Twelve might be arrested or prevented from leaving caused them to leave early as a vanguard company with anyone ready to go. During February some 2,500 Saints gathered at the Sugar Creek encampment in Iowa (1), whom Young organized as a “Camp of Israel," departing March 1. Spring rain and mud slowed the way, forcing the Camp to take 3.5 months to cover the 300 miles to the Missouri River.
Initially they passed along existing roads. During extended stops (2), men worked for locals; for example, the brass band performed for pay in Keosauqua. The company hugged the Missouri border so they could trade with settlers to the south for livestock feed. Deciding not to cross northern Missouri (in which Mormons were still in danger) as originally planned, they turned northwest on April 12 (4) toward the Council Bluffs area, blazing a new trail. At this turning point, William Clayton wrote the hymn “Come, Come, Ye Saints” (5). Moving on, they created Garden Grove (6: April 24) and Mount Pisgah (7: May 26) as temporary settlements for those without means to continue, eventually reaching the Missouri River in mid-June (8). William G. Hartley
Mapping Mormonism p.74
The Voyage of the Brooklyn
The 1847 Vanguard Pioneer Company
On April 7, 1847, the day after a general conference at Council Bluffs, Brigham Young began organizing a wagon train to head for the Salt Lake Basin. This vanguard company consisted of 143 men, 3 women, and 2 children and included a number of Apostles and other Church leaders; it was intended to be a scouting group to prepare for the families to follow. The train was held up for a week at the Elkhorn River to await the arrival of John Taylor, who was coming from England with some scientific instruments, including sextants, barometers, and a telescope, which allowed Orson Pratt to determine the latitude, longitude, and elevation of important landmarks along the way. The company also took a cannon with them to help guard against any Indian attacks. They were able to design and construct an odometer, which was attached to a wagon wheel to measure the distance they traveled each day. They noted the flora and fauna, soils, and rock formations along the way.
They stayed on the north side of the Platte and North Platte rivers until they reached Fort Laramie to avoid interaction with Oregon-bound travelers on the south side. Because they were the first wagon train to take this route, crews were sent ahead with tools to build the road through difficult terrain, knowing that many wagon trains would be following them. The rivers were running high with spring runoff, so they stopped to build ferry rafts and left crews behind to assist the companies that would follow that summer.
At Fort Laramie, they crossed to the south side of the river and followed the Oregon Trail across most of Wyoming. At Fort Bridger they followed the Hastings Cutoff to the southwest, used by the ill-fated Donner-Reed Party the year before. The first scouts entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 22 and were already plowing fields when Brigham Young arrived two days later, uttering the iconic words, “This is the right place; drive on.” Many of the men did not stay long, hurrying back east to prepare to bring their families. Wayne Wahlquist
They stayed on the north side of the Platte and North Platte rivers until they reached Fort Laramie to avoid interaction with Oregon-bound travelers on the south side. Because they were the first wagon train to take this route, crews were sent ahead with tools to build the road through difficult terrain, knowing that many wagon trains would be following them. The rivers were running high with spring runoff, so they stopped to build ferry rafts and left crews behind to assist the companies that would follow that summer.
At Fort Laramie, they crossed to the south side of the river and followed the Oregon Trail across most of Wyoming. At Fort Bridger they followed the Hastings Cutoff to the southwest, used by the ill-fated Donner-Reed Party the year before. The first scouts entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 22 and were already plowing fields when Brigham Young arrived two days later, uttering the iconic words, “This is the right place; drive on.” Many of the men did not stay long, hurrying back east to prepare to bring their families. Wayne Wahlquist
Mapping Mormonism p.80-81
19th Century Missions
During Joseph Smith’s lifetime, most missionaries served in the eastern United States and Canada, with a few going to the new mission in Great Britain. The worldwide expansion from 1850 to 1854 resulted in long-term success in Australia, Switzerland, and Scandinavia, but most of the missions closed when missionaries were recalled during the Utah War. Work was very limited during the darkest days of polygamy-related persecution, but missions and missionaries started to re-expand during the 1870s. After the Manifesto (1890) publicly ended polygamy, improved relations with the rest of the world and a crop of young second-generation members led to a rapid increase in missionary work in the 1890s.
Brandon Plewe, Mapping Mormonism p.94
Church Land Ownership in Downtown Salt Lake City
Downtown Salt Lake City, 2009
Downtown Salt Lake City, 1900
Downtown Salt Lake City, 1860