Mormon Pioneer Trail - Camp Grant - Mountain Dell Canyon, UT, USA - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

This historical marker is located along Highway 65, between Mountain Dell Reservoir and Little Dell Reservoir, in Mountain Dell Canyon. The marker reads:

CAMP GRANT

Here, August 18-20, 1846, the Donner-Reed Party (87 in party) camped while cutting a road over Little Mountain and down Emigration Canyon because they found (Parleys Canyon) too rugged. The journal of James Reed states, "Lay in camp in neat little valley, fine water, good grass, while all hands this day (August 19-20) are west side of small mountain clearing road to valley."

Although the first company of Mormon Pioneers had to greatly improve the road for succeeding wagon trains, they acknowledged with gratitude the work performed by the Donner Party, cutting this road over the Wasatch range from Henefer to the Salt Lake Valley. This camp was later used by thousands.

This camp is named after Jedediah M. Grant, whose company was the last one of 11 companies (approximately 2,095 pioneers) to arrive in the Salt Lake valley by October 2, 1847, the last of the season. He was also the first mayor of Salt Lake City, 1851 until his death 1856.

This monument refurbished and dedicated September 5, 1984 by the Holladay and Potomac-Maryland Chapters, Sons of Utah Pioneers. Replaces the original plaque erected May 1958 by the "Mormon" Explorers Y M M I A."

Site No. 6 Holladay and Potomac Chapters Sons of Utah Pioneers September 5, 1984


"The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile (2,092 km) route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868. Today the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, as the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail.

The Mormon Trail extends from Nauvoo, Illinois, which was the principal settlement of the Latter Day Saints from 1839 to 1846, to Salt Lake City, Utah, which was settled by Brigham Young and his followers beginning in 1847. From Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Fort Bridger in Wyoming, the trail follows much the same route as the Oregon Trail and the California Trail; these trails are collectively known as the Emigrant Trail.

The Mormon pioneer movement began in 1846 when, in the face of conflicts with neighbors, Young decided to abandon Nauvoo and to establish a new home for the church in the Great Basin. That year Young's followers crossed Iowa. Along their way, some were assigned to establish settlements and to plant and harvest crops for later emigrants. During the winter of 1846–47, the emigrants wintered in Iowa, other nearby states, and the unorganized territory that later became Nebraska, with the largest group residing in Winter Quarters, Nebraska. In the spring of 1847, Young led the vanguard company to the Salt Lake Valley, which was then outside the boundaries of the United States and later became Utah. During the first few years, the emigrants were mostly former occupants of Nauvoo who were following Young to Utah. Later, the emigrants increasingly comprised converts from the British Isles and Europe.

The trail was used for more than 20 years, until the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. Among the emigrants were the Mormon handcart pioneers of 1856–1860. Two of the handcart companies, led by James G. Willie and Edward Martin, met disaster on the trail when they departed late and were caught by heavy snowstorms in Wyoming." (visit link)

Road of Trail Name: Mormon Pioneer Trail State: Utah County: Salt Lake Historical Significance: It is the route that the Mormon Pioneers used when moving from Nauvoo, Illinois to the Salt Lake valley. Years in use: 22 years, from 1846 to 1868 How you discovered it: I was driving on Highway 65 that connects Interstate 80 with Emigration Canyon, east of Salt Lake City, and spotted the historical marker on the east side of the highway. Book on Wagon Road or Trial: THE MORMON PIONEER TRAIL, by Stanley B. Kimball The Mormon Pioneer Trail: From Nauvoo, Illinois to the Great Salt Lake, Utah, by Arlan Dean I Walked to Zion: True Stories of Young Pioneers on the Mormon Trail, by Susan A. Madsen Website Explination: http://www.nps.gov/mopi/index.htm http://www.lds.org/gospellibrary/pioneer/pioneerstory.htm Why?: Migration route for Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake. Directions: From I-80, between Salt Lake City and Park City, while in Parleys Canyon, take the Mountain Dell exit (Exit 134), north into Mountain Dell Canyon. Less than a mile from I-80, on the east (right-hand) side of the road is this historical marker.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   10/20/2012 Chasing Blue Sky visited it