Map: Forced Migrations

The Mormon Valley Forge
Winter Quarters, unorganized territory
1846-1847

"They're cold, they're hungry, they're exhausted. Their prophet has been martyred. In some sense, they have nothing left to lose..."
-- Sarah Barringer Gordon, historian

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About this Place
The temporary camp known as Winter Quarters is on the western banks of the Missouri River in a region not yet part of any U.S. territory, across from Kanesville, Iowa (later known as Council Bluffs). California and Oregon-bound explorers use Kanesville as a departure point.

Mormon Developments
The journey from Illinois is slow, covering only a few miles on some days. Lacking wagons and horses, some migrants pull hand-carts across the rough terrain. The convoy endures bitter cold at first, then debilitating mud brought on by spring rains. The travelers suffer immensely, and many die. The first convoy to arrive at the place that will become Winter Quarters divides the camp into wards, plants crops and builds log cabins.

Young develops into a pragmatic leader, mostly administrating, not prophesizing. The Mormons will continue to use Winter Quarters for years as a stopping point on the route west.

Why They Left
After such a treacherous journey, Brigham Young decides it will be best to wait out the coming winter at the settlement. The cold months prove brutal; fifteen percent of the population dies from scurvy. In April 1847, the first group leaves Winter Quarters and heads towards the Rocky Mountains. For once, the decision to depart is the Mormons' own.