"Road to Zion" -- US 26 nr Morrill NE
N 41° 58.365 W 104° 00.524
13T E 582129 N 4647225
A historic marker in the US 26 outside of Morrill NE marks this part of the Mormon Pioneer Trail
Waymark Code: WMK2VP
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 02/04/2014
Views: 2
The Mormon Trail joined the Oregon Trail at Council Bluffs IA to the east and followed it to Fort Bridger Wyoming, where the Mormon Trail diverged from the OT to head to the valley of the Salt Lake.
All three emigrant trails passed through Morrill NE, but this marker is concerned only with the Mormon Pioneer trail.
The marker reads as follows:
"From the late 1840s through the 1860s, an exodus of more than 70,000 Mormons passed by here on their way to their "New Zion" in Utah. Starting from Nauvoo, Illinois in February 1846, the first group of at least 13,000 Mormons crossed into Iowa to escape religious persecution, then spent the next winter in the area of present-day Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska.
In 1847, Brigham Young led an advance party of 143 men, 2 women, and 3 children along the Platte River. At Fort Bridger, Wyoming they departed from the Oregon Trail to head southwest to the Great Salt Lake. Thousands of other Mormons soon followed. Today, a marked 1,624-mile auto tour route closely parallels their historic trek."
Road of Trail Name: Mormon Pioneer rail
State: Nebraska
County: Scotts Bluff
Historical Significance:
70,000 Mormom Pioneers headed to the valley of the Salt Lake over this trail between 1846-1869.
Years in use: 23 years
How you discovered it:
History classes
Book on Wagon Road or Trial:
Handcarts to Zion: The Story of a Unique Western Migration, 1856-1860, by LeRoy R. and Ann W. Hafen
Website Explination:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Trail
Why?:
to secure religious freedom for themselves
Directions:
US 26 roadside pull out near Morrill NE
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Visit Instructions:
To post a log for this Waymark the poster must have a picture of either themselves, GPSr, or mascot. People in the picture with information about the waymark are preferred. If the waymarker can not be in the picture a picture of their GPSr or mascot will qualify. There are no exceptions to this rule.