Big Mountain
Posted by: 
stevedc323
N 40° 49.683 W 111° 39.217
12T E 444887 N 4519875
On 19 July 1847, scouts Orson Pratt and John Brown climbed the mountain and became the first Latter-day Saints to see the Salt Lake Valley.
Waymark Code: WM7XZX
Location: Utah, United States
Date Posted: 12/21/2009
Views: 17
On 19 July 1847, scouts Orson Pratt and John Brown climbed the mountain and became the first Latter-day Saints to see the Salt Lake Valley. Due to illness, the pioneer camp had divided into three small companies. On 23 July, the last party led by Brigham Young, reached the Big Mountain. By this time most of the first companies were already in the valley and planting crops. Mormons were not the first immigrant group to use this route into the Salt Lake Valley. The ill-fated Donner Party blazed the original trail one year earlier. They spent thirteen days cutting the trail from present-day Henefer into the valley. That delay proved disastrous later on when the party was caught in a severe winter storm in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Mormons traveled the same distance in only six days. Until 1861, this trail was also the route of California gold seekers, Overland Stage, Pony Express, original telegraph line, and other Mormon immigrant companies, after which Parley's Canyon was used.
This monument, erected and dedicated 25 August 1984, by South Davis Chapter, Sons of Utah Pioneers, replaces the original plaque erected 23 July 1933, by Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association and the Vanguard Association of the Salt Lake Council, Boy Scouts of America.
ORIGINAL PTLA MARKER READ: From this point Brigham Young and the Mormon Pioneers caught their first glimpse of the valley of the Great Salt Lake July 23, 1847. Orson Pratt leading the vanguard of the pioneers had reached here July 19, 1847. He put up a guide board reading "eighty miles to Fort Bridger". The ill-fated Donnor Party, first wagon train to use this route, crossed this divide about Aug. 23, 1846. Between that date and 1861 this trail was the route of many of the California gold seekers, the overland stage, the Mormon ox-team and handcart emigrants and the pony express.
Marker Name: Big Mountain
Marker Type: Roadside
Addtional Information:
This marker is found in the roadside turnout at the summit of East Canyon, 14.9 miles up from the mouth of Emigration Canyon.
County: Salt Lake
City: n/a
Group Responsible for Placement: South Davis Chapter, Sons of Utah Pioneers
Date Dedicated: 25 August 1984
Marker Number: Site #3
Web link(s) for additional information:
http://history.utah.gov/apps/markers/detailed_results.php?markerid=2120
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