The Road to Zion - Leon, Ia. - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

This National Park Service Marker is located in front of the Leon Public Library - 200 W 1st Street. The marker describes the trek of the Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois to New Zion - now Salt Lake City, Utah.

Text of the marker:

The Road to Zion

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.

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During their exodus of 1846-47, Mormon pioneers set up several communities and ferry crossings along the trail to assist later emigrants going to and from their new home in Utah.

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From 1856-60, most Mormon converts coming from Europe traveled by rail to Iowa City, Iowa, then walked more than 1,200 miles to Salt Lake City pushing and pulling handcarts loaded with 500 pounds of supplies. After 1860, the Mormon church sent oxen-drawn wagon trains from Salt Lake City to bring emigrants west to the "New Zion."

Diary pages by Morman emigrant Appleton Harmon relate his experiences near Chimney Rock and Scotts Bluff in 1847. Many Mormons kept diaries relating their ordeals and adventures.

Road of Trail Name: The Mormon Trail State: Iowa County: Decatur Historical Significance: From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Trail "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 run began in 1846 when, Young and his followers were driven from Nauvoo, leaving 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." Years in use: 20 - 1849 - 1868 How you discovered it: Accident - Located marker in front of the Library Website Explination: http://www.mormontrails.org/Trails/Summary/trailsum.htm This is a really nice website that goes in depth about the trail Why?: The followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been persecuted in western Missouri at Far West and at Nauvoo. The decision was made to emigrate west to the valley of the Salt Lake beyond the control of the United States to establish their own colony. Directions: Directly in front of the Leon Public Library - 200 W 1st Street. Book on Wagon Road or Trial: Not listed

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