Farmer, North Dakota to Kansas City

On our last day on the road, we stopped at the Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters in what is today Florence, Nebraska.  Thousands of Mormons were forced to leave their settlement at Nauvoo, Illinois because of religious persecution.  They began their journey westward in 1846 and established Winter Quarters on the banks of the Missouri River not far from Council Bluffs, Iowa.  The settlement was quickly constructed and well laid out.  Brigham Young organized wagon companies and sent them on their way west in the spring of 1847.  Many of these Mormon settlers eventually arrived at Salt Lake City, Utah.  Thousands others followed their lead.  In 1852, over 10,000 Mormons arrived in their expanding settlement on the banks of the Great Salt Lake.  The Mormon Trail Center is dedicated to educating visitors on the history of the Church of the Latter Day Saints and the role of its members in settling the West.

Mormon Trail Center At Winter Quarters - Family Heading West

Carla Takes A Turn at the Hand Cart