how were mormon settlements organized

Small settlements were frequently forts with log cabins arranged in a protective square. Wagon train assembled (or camped) in the area of Coalville, 1863. Between 1847 and 1900 the Mormons

founded about 500 settlements in Utah and neighboring states.

Full Answer

Why did the Mormons move to the Salt Lake Valley?

They migrated from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley, under the leadership of their new leader, Brigham Young. The driving force in the settlement of the Salt Lake Valley was LDS Church, with most of the people living there being church members.

What was the first Mormon settlement in the west?

Mormons in the American West. The first community established in the Salt lake Valley in 1847 was called Bountiful. The next year, lands were purchased in present-day Ogdon and in 1859, Tooele, Provo and Manti were founded. Fillmore, Utah, intended to be the capitol of the new territory, was established in 1851.

Why were the Mormons better equipped to settle the Great Plains?

Although the struggle for survival was difficult in the first years of settlement, the Mormons were better equipped by experience than many other groups to tame the harsh land. They had pioneered other settlements in the Midwest, and their communal religious faith underscored the necessity of cooperative effort.

Who were the Mormon settlers of Missouri?

The state’s “Old Settlers” (usually recent immigrants to the Missouri frontier themselves) characterized the Mormon settlers as fanatics whose clannish behavior made a mockery of republican institutions by placing power in the hands of a single man.

How are Mormons organized?

Organizational Structure of the Church. The Church is led by 15 apostles. The most senior apostle is the president of the Church, and he selects two other apostles as counselors. These three function as the First Presidency, which is the highest governing body of the Church.

What was the Mormon settlement?

Young, and 148 Mormons, crossed into the Great Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. For the next two decades, wagon trains bearing thousands of Mormon immigrants followed Young's westward trail. By 1896, when Utah was granted statehood, the church had more than 250,000 members, most living in Utah.

Where did the Mormons settle and why did they settle in that area?

They had embarked on a treacherous thousand-mile journey, looking for a new place to settle the "Promised Land." On July 24, 1847, an exhausted Brigham Young and his fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints arrived in Utah's Great Salt Lake Valley and called it home.

How were the Mormons able to successfully live and settle?

Young declared that the Church owned all land and that everyone had to work together for the community. The Mormons became almost entirely self-sufficient. They built complex irrigation systems to give them access to clean water for drinking and to water their crops.

Where did the Mormon settlers come from?

The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated beginning in the mid-1840s across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah.

What state did the Mormons settle?

Between 1847 and 1900 the Mormons founded about 500 settlements in Utah and neighboring states. At the same time, missionaries traveled worldwide, and thousands of religious converts from many cultural backgrounds made the long journey from their homelands to Utah via boat, rail, wagon train, and handcart.

Why did the Mormons like the area they chose to settle in?

Settling in Utah They also wanted to settle in a place where there was no government to bother them. Young chose Utah and was one of the first Mormons to go there with a group of followers. As the church leader, he helped set up successful communities in Utah, where many Mormons still live today.

Was Las Vegas a Mormon settlement?

Mormons Built The First Permanent Settlement In Las Vegas Mormons erected the first permanent settlement in Las Vegas. In 1855, they were sent by Brigham Young to establish an outpost halfway between Mormon missions in San Bernardino and Southern California.

Why do Mormons stay in Utah?

One reason why Mormons choose Utah as their home is to be among other people of the same faith. Ask those even vaguely informed about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints what a “Mormon” is, and they'll likely associate members with the US state of Utah, which is home to the church's official headquarters.

Why did Mormons move their communities several times?

Why did the Mormons move their communities several times? They were persecuted by other groups. William Lloyd Garrison's insistence on broadening the abolitionist agenda split the organization by pushing out which group?

What problems did Mormons face?

Organisation - on the journey 15,000 Mormons faced accidents, breakdowns, mouldy food, fever, lack of medical facilities, Native American attacks. Young taught Mormons how to manage a wagon train, and how to defend themselves against attack at night.

How was Utah settled?

The settlement of Utah by Anglo-Saxons was commenced in July, 1847, when Brigham Young, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lead the Saints to settle what is now Salt Lake City, a group consisting of 143 men, 3 women and 2 children.

Why was the Mormon migration important?

In June 1845 the leader of the Mormons, Joseph Smith, was murdered. Brigham Young became the new leader of the Mormons. Due to the hostility shown towards the Mormons, he decided they needed to move somewhere safer. Young decided to migrate to the Great Salt Lake, just south of the Oregon Trail.

What was the Mormon migration?

Over the next two decades more than 60,000 Mormons would journey to the Utah Territory; thousands came by wagon, and thousands more pulled handcarts across the harsh terrain. Many died along the way, and the survivors found the country they sought to escape would soon expand its borders to encompass them.

Why did some people oppose the Mormons?

Residents resented the Mormons' growing power, feared the poverty of some recent arrivals would lead to "pauperism," and even worried that local Mormon converts would deed their property to the church rather than relatives.

When did the Mormons begin to colonize the Great Basin?

The Mormons began to tame the Great Basin as soon as they arrived in 1847. Under Brigham Young’s colonizing policy, 358 settlements were established by the time of his death in 1877. Thereafter, colonizing proceeded at a more leisurely pace until about 1900, when official Mormon colonizing was terminated, probably because Church membership was becoming too scattered and because few desirable places were left to settle.

Where did the Mormon Trail go?

West of this junction the trail generally followed the Platte River to the Kearney and Adams county line west of Prosser, where it joined the Oregon Trail. From there it went due west to Fort Kearney, where the Mormons crossed the Platte and picked up the old Mormon trail of 1847.

Why did the Mormons choose Wyoming?

The Mormons preferred Wyoming, founded in 1855, over Nebraska City because it provided ample space for their staging ground and was well removed from criminal elements in the bigger port city. The Mormons constructed a few buildings of their own there, but nothing remains of old Wyoming today except an unmarked graveyard where a number of unknown Mormons were buried. Old Wyoming was doomed when the Missouri, Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad bypassed it.

Where is the Mormon Trail in Nebraska City?

The Mormons picked up the trail somewhere west of Nebraska City near highway 2 and crossed the Little Nemaha River near Syracuse. A marker is on old highway 40 near the Syracuse Hospital. The marker at Palmyra is about one-half mile south of the bridge on highway 802. The Mormons passed south of Lincoln, where another marker can be found at the southwest corner of an intersection of highway 77 and a section-line road from Bennett, approximately four miles north of highway 33.

How many Mormons were on the cutoff train?

Twenty-two organized immigrant companies, 6,500 Saints total, used the cutoff during its three-year service. Some 500 more Mormons traveled individually with other non-Mormon, freight wagon trains from nearby Nebraska City.

What were the two colonies that were founded in the 1880s?

During the 1880s, because of the United States government’s vigorous prosecution of polygamists, two foreign colonies were founded: the Alberta Refuge, around Cardston, Canada, and the Mexican Refuge, consisting of seven colonies in northern Chihuahua and Sonora, the earliest of which was Colonia Diaz in 1885.

When was Utah colonized?

The second settlement strip consisted primarily of a fertile valley chain lying east of the mountains (the boundary of the first strip) and was colonized in the early 1860s. The third strip, including most of the remaining desirable areas in the middle Rocky Mountain region and the Colorado Basin, was colonized into the 1870s. These three areas account for seventy-five percent of all colonies established in Utah.

How did the Salt Lake Temple help the Saints?

The construction of the Salt Lake Temple helped further motivate the Saints to establish an effective industrial base. Until the introduction of rail, teams of oxen hauled raw materials from the mountains, which was a lengthy and dangerous process. Young admonished his people to add their labor power to the Transcontinental Railroad lines, which would meet at Promontory Point. In 1862 Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act that would allow for the rail to reach the Salt Lake valley. Hon Farr, the Mayor of Ogden, in a speech, voiced his joy: “Hail to the great highway of the nations, Utah bids you welcome! Once the rail was introduced in the valley, seven additional lines were built to transport heavy materials, such as granite, from distant areas, as well as to transport people.

How was the Salt Lake Valley founded?

The Salt Lake Valley was founded first upon an agrarian system and later combined this with non-agrarian techniques by way of manufacturing and the use of the railroad. The early agrarian development began by appointing crews to “plow, plant, survey, build fences, saw timber, build a public shelter, and explore ".

Why did the Saints want to manufacture?

After basic agrarian settlement, the saints were in demand of goods that came from outside their territory, wherein there was a lack in purchasing power due to high transportation costs for goods produced outside of the valley, this pushed them into manufacturing closer to home. After conquering the desert in agriculture, the saints were confident in their own strength, courage, and leadership to succeed in the manufacturing industry. Infant industry occurred within the home level, when Brigham Young stated:

What was the driving force of the Salt Lake Valley?

The driving force in the settlement of the Salt Lake Valley was LDS Church, with most of the people living there being church members. This group was familiar with establishing towns, where they all lived and worked together, and promoted the concept of Zion. The motivation for Mormon migration was not wealth or fame, but religion. Since its earliest days, missionary work had been a prominent responsibility of the church and its members. Proselyting efforts to gain more followers and bring them to Zion played a critical role in the immigration to Utah, which provided manpower for settlement. The Perpetual Emigration Fund was established to finance the travels of converts to Utah. Young had envisioned that the “desert blossom as a rose, " and this vision was coming to pass as thousands of Americans, and foreigners alike, joined the Saints in the Salt Lake Valley and contributed greatly to their mission.

Why was the presence of the Saints in the valley important?

The presence of the Saints in the valley was useful in the concluding efforts of the Transcontinental Railroad, where Promontory, Utah served as the connecting point of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific lines.

How did the Saints and the 49ers benefit from each other?

The Saints and the 49ers mutually benefited from each other. The Saints received outside supplies, i.e. consumer goods and farm implements, and the 49ers received critical aid during their rest stop in the valley. The relationship between the two was generally positive, despite some accounts of conflict.

What was the gold used for in the Deseret Mint?

The gold was used to mint gold coins wherein the church used this for financing and to establish the Deseret Mint until paper currency was issued. 1849 brought the miracle of economic development that gold would contribute to in the valley.

How many groups were there in the Mormon migration?

The company was further divided into groups of 10 and 50 with authority and responsibility delegated downward.

What is the Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel?

The Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel gathers information from journals, church history records, and other materials to locate the company in which an ancestor traveled across the plains to get to Utah. This covers known and unknown wagon trains from 1847 to 1868. It contains lists of passengers in companies as well as genealogical information about ancestors. It is the most comprehensive list of Mormon immigrants and the wagon trains that brought them to Utah.

Why did the LDS move to Illinois?

Since its founding in 1830, members of the LDS Church frequently had conflicts and difficult relations with non-members, due to both their unorthodox religious beliefs and the conduct of the church leaders and members. These and other reasons caused the body of the church to move from one place to another—to Ohio, Missouri, and then to Illinois, where they built the city of Nauvoo. Sidney Rigdon was the First Counselor in the church's First Presidency, and as its spokesman, Rigdon preached several controversial sermons in Missouri, including the Salt Sermon and the July 4th Oration. These speeches have sometimes been seen as contributing to the conflict known as the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri. As a result of the conflict, the Mormons were expelled from the state by Governor Boggs, and Rigdon and Smith were arrested and imprisoned in Liberty Jail. Rigdon was released on a writ of habeas corpus and made his way to Illinois, where he joined the main body of Mormon refugees in 1839. In 1844, Smith, and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob while in custody in the city of Carthage, Illinois. In 1846, religious tensions reached their peak, and in 1848 mobs burned the Latter-day Saint temple in Nauvoo .

What were the items that were carried on wagons?

The provisions included two to three yoke of o xen, two milk cows, other livestock, arms and ammunition, 15 lb of iron, pulleys and ropes, fishing gear, farming and mechanical equipment, cooking equipment and at least 1000 pounds of flour plus assorted other foodstuffs. Some pioneers overestimated the number of goods they could haul on the long journey. As the oxen weakened under the strain, wagons were lightened by discarding prized possessions, including book collections, family china, and furniture. In 1847, just east of the Rocky Mountains, the Kimball family dug a large hole, wrapped their piano in buffalo skins and carefully buried it. An ox team retrieved the instrument the following spring and transported it to the Salt Lake Valley.

How did the Great Basin affect the Church?

Financial resources of the church members varied, with many families suffering from the loss of land and personal possessions in Missouri, and Illinois. This impacted the resources and supplies each family could draw upon as they covered the more than 1,000 miles (2,000 km) to the Great Basin. Church funds were also limited at this time, but church leaders provided what funding and other material assistance they could to families and companies which were undersupplied.

Where did the Utes settle?

In 1849, Tooele and Fort Utah in modern-day Provo were founded. The settlement of Provo was particularly troubling to the Utes, since it was at the heart of their territory. Ute chief Wakara suggested the pioneers instead move into the Sanpete Valley in central Utah, where they established the community of Manti. Tensions in Fort Utah mounted after Mormons murdered Old Bishop, and Young ordered an attack on Utes, called the Battle at Fort Utah. This was shortly followed by the Walker War.

Where did the pioneers travel?

The pioneers traveled to the Salt Lake Valley in the Great Basin using mainly large farm wagons, handcarts, and, in some cases, personally carrying their belongings. Their trail along the north bank of the Platte River and North Platte River and over the continental divide climbing up to South Pass and Pacific Springs from Fort John along the valley of the Sweetwater River, then down to Fort Bridger and thence down to the Great Salt Lake became known as the Mormon Trail .

How were Mormon settlements structured?

Settlements were planned with the establishment of a community on the most promising site. From this hub other settlements would expand. Towns were placed at intervals of seven to ten miles. They were surveyed into large square blocks with lots for individual families. There was always common grazing land near the center of a Mormon town with a ditch or small stream running through it to water the animals. Farms covered as much land as was possible between towns.

Where did the Mormons settle?

In western North America the term “Mormon Corridor” refers to the areas settled by members of the Church of Christ of the Latter Day Saints. In the 1870s Mormons began to settle in the southern San Luis Valley (SLV) of Colorado, mostly in Conejos County. While mining was a source of employment for some of the new immigrants, most Mormons worked in agriculture.

What was the Mormon immigration?

Often it was kin-based migration, a trek of family and friends looking for a new life.” New to the SLV, Mormon settlers were helped by local Noreteño families who came with provisions, shelter, and land acquisitions. Echohawk writes, “Most residents in the region had not previously met Mormons and hostilities leveled at them in the American South and Scandinavia had not preceded them to the Valley.” The SLV Courier in 1889 wrote about the immigrants, “A great many of the better class of Mormons are leaving Utah and settling in this Valley, mostly in the vicinity of Manassa. These people are a valuable addition to the country as they understand thoroughly the problem of farming by irrigation.”

Why were settlements encouraged?

Settlements were encouraged to be as self-sustaining as possible . This policy allowed for a quicker development of local enterprises and industries. It also allowed Mormons to patronize local Mormon businesses. In the SLV settlers included Scandinavians, mostly Danish converts from Utah sent by the Church to help orient new converts from the Southern US Mission and newly converted Catawba Indians from North Carolina. As well as being relatively new converts themselves from their years farming in Utah, the Danes were expert dry land farmers. This skill proved valuable in the SLV.

What was the purpose of the revelations of Smith and other Mormon prophets?

The revelations of Smith and other Mormon prophets were so powerful that they brought people from all over the globe to join the new church. At this time industrialization, technological advances, global population stresses, war, religious persecution and social unrest left many searching for an answer, if you will, a divine purpose in their lives. The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) says social scientist Marvin A. Hill can be seen as a microcosm of America. “The Mormon commitment to build Zion in the west is a manifestation of the American Mission.” It was the desire of these early Mormons to find a fair and harmonious society as the Book of Mormon promised.

Why did the Mormons live in towns?

As a rule, homes were not built on farmland and all the Saints lived in towns for defense, the establishment of local government, a greater opportunity for religious and spiritual growth, education and recreation. This setup kept the Mormons square in the middle of church activities. Judson Flowers notes, “Both religious and secular appointments required the sustaining approval of the popular membership of the area.” In Mormon communities religious and secular roles often crossed. There was little or no separation between church and state.

Why did Southerners move west?

Their desire was to find the just and harmonious society found in the Book of Mormon. Secondly, Christian southerners who were unaffiliated with other denominations saw that the zeal and commitment of the Mormon missionaries continued through persecution and therefore, must be true. The third reason is simple fear of persecution. As Morgan put it, “The irritation with the behavior of local elites with their night riding minions (KKK) may have helped compel some of the southern plain folk to convert.” Reconstruction after the end of the Civil War caused population upheaval, particularly in the south, and many moved west to start anew. Edward R. Crowther, writing in the SLV Historian about the so-called “Southern Saints” said, “Retaliation and murder, at least in part, spawned the desire of southern converts to immigrate to the west.”

Where did the LDS settle?

Settlements in Carson Valley, Nevada, on the west were an outgrowth of individual LDS enterprise along the route of gold-seekers traveling to California, reinforced at the direction of Church leaders.

Where did the Latter Day Saints settle?

Between 1830 and 1846, Latter-day Saints settled in or near a series of Church headquarters. After conflict and persecution in New York, Ohio, Missouri , and Illinois, they sought refuge in a virtual no-man's-land in the West. After establishing a new headquarters in the heretofore largely uninhabited Salt Lake Valley, ...

What were the reasons for the withdrawal of the outer colonies?

For various reasons, most of these outer colonies proved less than successful and were discontinued by 1858. The March of the Utah expedition toward Utah and hostility provoked by the Mountain Meadows Massacre prompted a withdrawal from most distant outposts. After the conclusion of the so-called Utah War, colonization resumed, but within a more compact territory. St. George, Utah, the focal point of the 1861 Cotton Mission, became a key settlement in the Southwest. With President Young's persistent support, that settlement survived the demise of its cotton industry after America's Civil War and the abandonment of LDS efforts to establish a route for trade and immigration via the Gulf of California and the lower Colorado River. With the addition of settlements in northern Utah and southern Idaho, the population came to be most heavily concentrated in the territory's northern region.

Why were the Latter Day Saints important?

Though some were distant from Salt Lake City, they were not isolated villages but maintained close communication with adjacent settlements and Church headquarters. Following a pattern that emerged in the Church's first decade, each was founded to provide protection and promote unity and shared values.

How was colonization coordinated?

Colonization was generally directed and coordinated from Church headquarters. Church leaders selected key sites and handpicked leaders to direct the founding of new villages. Some settlers volunteered, while others received a calling to relocate.

What was the impact of the expansion of settlement beyond the Salt Lake Valley on Native Americans?

Meanwhile, the extension of settlement beyond the Salt Lake Valley deprived Native Americans of prime hunting and fishing lands.

What did the Latter Day Saints do to convert the Indians?

Latter-day Saints sought to convert the Indians both to their religion and to the pursuit of agriculture. Even with the assistance of federally sponsored farms, however, few Indians made successful transitions.

What was the name of the county in Missouri that was a Mormon reservation?

In 1836 a “separate but equal” proposal was finally devised to solve this problem, whereby the state legislature created a new county, “Caldwell,” in northwest Missouri as a sort of Mormon “Indian Reservation.”. But the booming Mormon population, swelled by the immigration of thousands of eastern converts doomed this to failure, ...

What was the Mormon War?

The Missouri Mormon War. In the 1830s, “Mormonism” commanded center stage in Missouri politics. Joseph Smith and the church he founded in New York State in 1830 quickly gained converts, attracting considerable attention throughout the northeastern United States. Originally named the Church of Christ, it subsequently became the Church ...

What are the Mormon War papers?

This collection includes records such as the journal of the joint legislative committee that investigated the difficulties with the Mormons, the report of the complaints against the Mormons, letters relating to the movement of the militia, a petition to Governor Boggs ...

Why were Mormons called Mormons?

Believers were referred to as “Mormons” because of the church’s adherence to “The Book of Mormon,” their companion scripture to the Bible wherein the story of Jesus appearing to the ancestors of the Na tive Americans was told. That same year, Smith dispatched a handful of missionaries to Missouri’s western border to preach ...

How many church members left Missouri?

Over the next year, around eight thousand church members, often ragged and deprived of their property, left Missouri for Illinois. The Missouri State Archives’ “Mormon War Papers” shed light on this frequently misunderstood episode of Missouri history.

Who ordered the Saints to be expelled from Missouri?

When the Mormons attacked a duly authorized militia under the belief it was an anti-Mormon mob, Missouri’s governor, Lilburn Boggs, ordered the Saints expelled from the state, or “exterminated,” if necessary.

When did the violence break out in Missouri?

Violence broke out in 1833 as the “Old Settlers” under the guise of “extra-legal” justice took the law into their own hands. It soon became clear that Missouri non-Mormons and Mormons could not live in the same area harmoniously.

What did the Mormons do in the 19th century?

Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormons publicly announced the practice of plural marriage, which Smith had instituted in secret some years earlier. Plural marriage would become the faith’s most famous characteristic during the 19th century.

Who was the founder of the Mormon Church?

Joseph Smith, Jr. – Founder of the Mormon Church. Brigham Young – Leading the Mormons. The Mormon Church was founded in New York after Joseph Smith, Jr. claimed to have found a buried book of golden plates written by ancient American prophets in the late 1820s. Smith said the Angel Moroni, who was the guardian of these plates, ...

What was the Missouri Mormon War?

When many of the Kirtland church members followed him to Missouri, tensions escalated with the old Missouri settlers, which led to what has become known as the Missouri Mormon War. Missouri’s “old settlers,” characterized the Mormons as fanatics whose clannish behavior made a mockery of republican institutions by placing power in the hands of a single man.

What river did the Mormons use to get to Fort Kearny?

While the Platte River was the main Mormon Trail to Fort Kearny, Nebraska, second in importance was their use of the original trail from Independence to Fort Kearny, especially by the thousands of Mormons who emigrated from England, and by boats via New Orleans and St. Louis to Independence, or by rail via New York.

How many Mormons were killed in 1838?

Between August and November 1838, more than 20 Mormons were killed. Mormon Temple in Nauvoo, Illinois by Kathy Weiser-Alexander. Over the next year, an estimated 10,000 Mormons were forced to leave the state, most settling in or near what would become the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. In 1839, Smith directed the construction ...

When was the Book of Mormon published?

This work, published in 1830, as the Book of Mormon, served as a foundation for Smith’s organization, first called the Church of Christ, established April 6, 1830. It was later renamed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kirkland, Ohio Mormon Temple, courtesy Wikipedia.

Where did the Council Bluffs settle?

They toiled across Iowa and Missouri during the years of 1845-46, settling down again at points on the Missouri River. Trouble with the Indians caused them to build a town across the river near the present city of Council Bluffs, calling it “Kanesville.” Nearly 15,000 of them located at a point north of Omaha, near present-day Florence, Nebraska, calling it “The Winter Quarters.”

Overview

Settlement

The Intermountain West was “drier and colder…more rugged… and less accessible,” making the geographical differences from the Mississippi River Valley, their former home, quite profound. With the Salt Lake Valley between the Wasatch Mountains on the east, the Oquirrh Mountains on the west, Traverse Ridge to the south, and the Great Salt Lake to the northwest, the valley provided the desired isolation from other settlers. The church leaders’ assessment of the area was “base…

Roots of settlement

Central institution

Development

See also

Notes

Overview

Vanguard company of 1847

Background of the migration

Travel conditions

The ship Brooklyn

Later migration

Growth and development

Legacy