Timeline
1845-1846--The Mormon Community in Nauvoo, IL, led by Brigham Young faced hostility from outside communities
1847--12,000 Mormons reached Winter Quarters, near Omaha, NE
1847--More Momons traveled from Omaha to Salt Lake City, UT
1860s--Mormon Trail was in steady use although numbers declined
1869--Transcontinental railroad was built and it extended to Salt Lake City, allowing Mormons to travel on the railroad rather than on the trail
1847--12,000 Mormons reached Winter Quarters, near Omaha, NE
1847--More Momons traveled from Omaha to Salt Lake City, UT
1860s--Mormon Trail was in steady use although numbers declined
1869--Transcontinental railroad was built and it extended to Salt Lake City, allowing Mormons to travel on the railroad rather than on the trail
People and Places
(Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Brigham Young lead the Mormon Community, in his state of Illonois, who were fleeing hostile groups of people that did not appreciate the mormon prescence. Organized groups of Mormon families crossed the ice on the frozen Mississippi and moved across the Territory of Iowa toward the West.
Young established a new route along the north bank of the Platte that would become known as the Mormon trail. He hoped to avoid encounters with the hostile groups they were fleeing. The 1st stop on the trail was Fort Laramie, they then followed the Oregon Trailfor some 400 miles to Fort Bridger. After, Young and his party left the Oregon Trail and struck across the Wasatch Range into the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. It was at the entrance to the valley that Young called his party together and announced the site as the future gathering of Zion.
Young established a new route along the north bank of the Platte that would become known as the Mormon trail. He hoped to avoid encounters with the hostile groups they were fleeing. The 1st stop on the trail was Fort Laramie, they then followed the Oregon Trailfor some 400 miles to Fort Bridger. After, Young and his party left the Oregon Trail and struck across the Wasatch Range into the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. It was at the entrance to the valley that Young called his party together and announced the site as the future gathering of Zion.
The groups that travelled the trails consisted of large numbers of people and the wagon trains would stretch on and on. There was safety in the large numbers that were moving West. It protected them from natives and any other dangers along the way.
Why
The Mormon's went on the Mormon Trail seeking religious freedom and the freedom to practice peacefully. The Mormons original surroundings were filled with conflict and issues regarding their neighbors and their religion. The West provided a fresh start, where they could organize their own town with their own church without protest. However, others went on the Mormon trail as another route to different places in the west.