Mt. Pisgah - Mormon Pioneer Way Station - near Talmage, Iowa
Posted by: 
iconions
N 41° 03.055 W 094° 06.023
15T E 407526 N 4544992
Quick Description: This double sided marker is located near the parking lot of the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery State Historical Preserve near Talmage, Iowa.
Location: Iowa, United States
Date Posted: 7/22/2009 6:52:23 PM
Waymark Code: WM6VAM
Views: 3
Long Description:Text of the front side of the marker:
Mt. Pisgah - Mormon Pioneer Way Station
Between 300 and 400 Mormon pioneers perished here from 1846 to
1852. Having been driven from their homes by armed mobs, they
stopped here on their westward trek, named it Mt. Pisgah after a
Biblical mountain range, and established a way-station. Thousands
of acres were cleared, buildings built, and caves dug for shelter
until log cabins were constructed, but lack of food and adequate
shelter took their toll. In spite of these hardships Mt. Pisgah
became a stopping place for an almost endless train of
westward-bound Mormon pioneers until 1852 when the last Latter-day
Saints left and the site was bought by a Henry Peters and named
Petersville.
The original community was located on the slope and flatlands
east of this spot. The cemetery extended down the hill to the west,
north and south beyond the railroad tracks. Headstones were long
ago removed or destroyed by the elements, but the large monument
was erected in 1888.
(over)
Reverse of the Marker
Chief Pied Riche Tells the Spirit of Mt. Pisgah
Soon after the Mormons arrived here the renowned Indian Chief
Pied Riche came to bid them welcome and to tell them how the
Pottawattamie Indians had likewise been driven from their homeland
in what is now Michigan. “We must help one another, and the Great
Spirit will help us both. Because one suffers and does not deserve
it is no reason he shall suffer always. We may live to see it right
yet. If we do not, our children will."