Mormons in the Midwest, 1830-18461996, The 150th Anniversary of the Mormon Exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois
Excerpted from Volume 2, Discover! America's Great River Road by Pat Middleton. For
the personal use and enjoyment of our readers. May not be reposted, reprinted or
reproduced in any way without permission. © Pat Middleton Table of Contents Click Here
to Order Discover! America's Great River Road--your
indispensable guide to traveling the
Mississippi River! Volume 2
includes Nauvoo and Quincy, Illinois, Montrose, Iowa, St. Louis, Missouri,
and the whole Illinois Mormon history.
(St. Louis to Memphis), please call 800-747-BOOK.
Click here to see sketch of Nauvoo, Illinois.
Click here to see Map of the Mormon Trail, Nauvoo, Illinois, to
the Great Salt Lake Basin. Relations with neighboring Gentiles had become so acrimonious that it was decided an
immediate exodus was necessary. In February of 1846 Brigham Young, then president of the
Mormon church's governing body, directed the greatest, most successful mass exodus in American
history. Not all Mormons followed Young's contingent, however. Several groups dispersed
elsewhere. Emma Smith and her group stayed along the Mississippi in Wisconsin, Iowa, and
Illinois and eventually formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints. Click here to visit
web site with a history of Latter Day Saints in Wisconsin. The Mormons spread out for 1,400 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa, (thus avoiding
Missouri) to the Great Salt Lake Basin. Now officially designated as the Mormon Pioneer
Trail, this National Historic Trail with 73 historic sites is maintained by te
National Park Service. It begins in Nauvoo, Illinois, and terminates at the Pioneer
Trail State Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mormons at the front planted crops and constructed shelters for those who followed.
When money for funding the exodus ran low, the last three thousand families were issued
pushcarts instead of wagons. Each family physically pushed five hundred pounds of
belongings and supplies across the western plains. The last groups found supply stations stripped and, as winter set in, many simply froze
to death along the route. Upon arriving in the Great Basin, further difficulties met the
immigrants. The arid land could not support crops, so technologies learned with draining
Nauvoo, Illinois, were reversed to provide water for irrigation. Entire herds of cattle froze to
death in sudden blizzards. Insects devoured crops. Along the way, 500 men were mustered into the Mexican War, entering Mexico
near modern day Douglas, Arizona. They then followed the Pedro River north to participate in
the California Gold Rush at Sutter's Mill before rejoining their brethren in the Great
Salt Lake Basin. During Brigham Young's administration as the Second President of the
Church of Latter Day Saints, over 70,000 people from the U.S.A., Europe and Canada settled
in Utah. Three hundred cities and town were established. The Mormons literally moved the community of Nauvoo one thousand miles past the limits
of civilization at that time. The skilled tradesmen, craftsmen, artists, and professionals
provided a way-station in the middle of the wilderness which enabled many other immigrants
to reach the west coast who might otherwise have succeeded. Brigham Young developed a
doctrine for water use that is now used throughout the arid west from Arizona to the
Dakotas and California. In 1950 a statue of Brigham Young was placed in the American Hall of Fame in the
Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. where Young was honored as the great
colonizer. Iowa's Mormon Trail School District Project (looks good!) All Rights Reserved. c Pat Middleton Discover! America's Great River Road,
Volume 2
After the 1846 exodus of the Mormons from Nauvoo, the Icarians, a communal group lead by Etienne Cabet, moved into the town in 1849. The Icarian community was short-lived. Although they also established communities in Corning, Iowa, St. Louis, and California, by 1898 the group had disintegrated. Today we still enjoy Rhubarb pie, which was introduced by the Icarians. An Icarian architect, A.J. Piquenard, designed both the Illinois and Iowa state capitol buildings. Many of the Icarians were French nationals who began the cultivation of grapes in Nauvoo. The historic Baxter Vineyards is one of the last remnants of the wine making industry for which Nauvoo became famous. Emile Baxter joined the Icarians in 1855 and planted his vineyard in 1858. He remained in Nauvoo when the Icarians disbanded. His great, great grand-son now operates the oldest winery in Illinois. THE ICARIAN LIVING HISTORY MUSEUM (located in the restored 1846 Mix House on East Parley behind Nauvoo State Park.) Open 2 to 5 p.m. April through November. Museum is devoted to French and Icarian culture in America. Artifacts date from 1849 to 1860. Many more historic sites in Nauvoo are described in Volume 2, Discover! America's Great River Road. To review books available from Heritage Press, click here. Thank you very much.Related LinksIowa's Mormon Trail School District Project (looks good!) Mormon Island State Recreation Area (a winter camp on the Mormon Trail) Mormon History Resource Directory (Lots of links with a historical slant!) More links! Nauvoo travel link Map of towns in Hancock County, Illinois A Virtual Tour of Nauvoo , Illinois Graphics Summary |
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