Under the leadership of Joseph Smith Jr, the 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. They were finally forced to abandon Nauvoo in 1846.

The Trek West

As the senior apostle of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles after Joseph Smith's death, Brigham Young 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 place no one else wanted and felt the isolated Great Basin would provide the Saints with many advantages.

Young 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 travellers using the established Orgeon 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.

Trek of 1846

The departure from Nauvoo began on February 4, 1846, an early departure that exposed them to the worst of winter. After crossing the Mississipi River, the journey across Iowa Territory followed primitive territorial roads and native American trails. The trip across Iowa was slowed by rain, mud, swollen rivers, and poor preparation, and required sixteen weeks—nearly three times longer than planned. Heavy rains 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. The initial party reached the Missouri River on June 14. 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 Omaha, Nebraska building a camp called Winter Quarters.

The Vanguard Company of 1847

The company consisted of 143 men, including three blacks and eight members of the Council of 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, 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.

Now facing a more rugged and hazardous trek, Young chose to follow the trail used by the Donner-reed party on their journey to California the previous year. As the vanguard company travelled 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.

Handcarts: 1856-1860

A unique feature of the Mormon migration was their use of handcarts – the two-wheeled carts that were pulled by emigrants, instead of draft animals and sometimes used as an alternate means of transportation from 1856-1860. They were seen as a faster, easier, and cheaper way to bring European converts to Salt Lake City. Almost 3,000 Mormons, with 653 carts and 50 supply wagons, travelling in 10 different companies, made the trip over the trail to Salt Lake City. While not the first to use handcarts, they were the only group to use them extensively.

The handcarts were modelled after carts used by street sweepers and were made almost entirely of wood. They were generally six to seven feet long, wide enough to span a narrow wagon track, and could be alternately pushed or pulled. The small boxes affixed to the carts were three to four feet long and eight inches (203 mm) high. They could carry about 500 pounds, most of this weight consisting of trail provisions and a few personal possessions.

 

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

Sugar Creek (7 miles west of Nauvoo) the first ferry crossing of the Mississipi River.

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, 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. Here, 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) — at the location of the first semi-permanent settlement, named Garden Grove.

Mount Pishah (153 miles west) - the emigrants established another semi-permanent settlement in Potawatomi, named Mount Pisgah. Several thousand acres were cultivated and a settlement of about 700 Latter-day Saints thrived there from 1846 to 1852.

Nishnabotna River Crossing (232 miles west) — From Mount Pisgah the trail proceeds past the modern towns of Orient, Bridgewater and Lewis.

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. Kanesville (later Council Bluffs, 265 miles west) - emigrants established an important settlement and outfitting point at this site, originally known as Miller's Hollow, but later renamed Kanesville, honouring Thomas L. Kane.

Winter Quarters (266 miles west) - the settlement was later renamed Florence and is now located in Omaha.

Elkhom River (293 miles west)

Platte River (305 miles west) - All emigrants leaving Missouri travelled along the Great Platte River Road.

Loup Fork (352 miles west) - one of the early and very difficult crossings during the trek west from Council Bluffs.

Fort Kearny (469 miles west) - named after Stephen Watts Kearny.

Confluence Point (563 miles west)

Ash Hollow (646 miles west) - Many passing diarists noted the beauty of Ash Hollow, although this was ruined by thousands of passing emigrants.

Chimney Rock (718 miles west) - 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.

Wyoming

Fort Laramie (788 miles west) an old trading and military post, which served as a place for the emigrants to rest and restock provisions.

Upper Platte/Mormon Ferry (914 miles west) — The last crossing of the Platte River took place near modern Casper.

Red Butte (940 miles west) - 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.

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.

Independence Rock (965 miles west) - one of the trial'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) - a narrow gorge cut through the rocks by the Sweetwater River.

Martin's Cove (993 miles west)

Rocky Ridge (1038 miles west) — Between the fifth and sixth crossings of the Sweetwater, 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. 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 (8.0 km) 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 gruelling 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) - a 20 mile (32 km) wide pass across the Continental Divide, located between the modern towns of Atlantic City and Farson.

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 travelling to Oregon and California.

Fort Bridger (1183 miles west) - established in 1842 by famous mountain man Jim Bridger.

Bear River Crossing (1216 miles west) - last river crossings on the Mormon Trail.

The Needles (1236 miles west) - a prominent rock formation close to the Utah-Wyoming border

Utah

Echo Canyon (1246 miles/2005 km 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/2058 km west) - highest elevation of the entire Mormon trail at 8,400 feet (2560 m).

Golden Pass Road (1281 miles/2061 km west) – latterly known as Parley's Canyon and the road built as the "Golden Pass Road," due to the large number of gold miners who used it on their way to California.

Emigration Canyon(Donner Hill) (1283 miles/2064 km west)

Salt Lake City (1297 miles/2087 km 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 town sites 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.