Handcart
Posted by: 
brwhiz
N 37° 34.405 W 113° 42.248
12S E 261192 N 4161924
This Historical Marker is mounted on a steel post next to a replica of a handcart used by indigent Mormon pioneers in the Enterprise Heritage Park on the east edge of Enterprise, Utah.
Waymark Code: WMGW4Z
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 04/14/2013
Views: 2
Handcart
Between the years 1847 and 1869, 68,000 Saints made the trek to Zion. Mary Ann and Eliza Jane Pulsipher, ages 15 and 7, walked the 1030 miles to the Salt Lake Valley during the summer of 1848, arriving on September 23.
The handcart was devised as an inexpensive means of transportation for those that could not afford animal drawn wagons. 650 handcarts made the long trek. Some of the most tragic and difficult experiences of the Mormon pioneers were recorded by the Willies and Martin handcart expeditions in 1857. They left Winter Quarters late in the season and were caught by early winter storms in Wyoming. Their supplies ran out and people were dying from hunger and exposure. William Pulsipher, a brother of Mary Ann and Eliza Jane, volunteered to join the parties sent out by Brigham Young to rescue those two handcart companies. William's health suffered for many years as a result of his effort.
Blaine W. Allan of Cedar City built this handcart from written descriptions. The wagon and all the equipment on display have been faithfully restored by Blaine who, at the time, was in his 84th year.