The history of the Mormon Trail cannot be understood without an awareness of the Mormon religion itself. The great Mormon migration of 1846-1847 was but one step in the Mormons' quest for religious freedom and growth.
The Mormon Religion, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, was founded on April 6, 1830, by Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith had had visions as a teenager and in 1827 proclaimed that an angel had showed him buried gold plates which he then transcribed into the Book of Mormon. Faced with prosecution, Mormons moved farther and farther west, eventually settling in Nauvoo, IL. There they stayed, from 1839 till 1846, when rising tensions between citizens grew to a head.
On June 27, 1844, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by an angry mob.
Joseph's successor, Brigham Young, continued with Smith's plans to move West. Although by that time Mormon population numbered about 11,000, over 200 Mormon homes were burned in attempts to force the Mormons out of Nauvoo.
Possible locations for a new home for the Mormons included Oregon, California and Texas. But with Smith's acquisition of John Fremont's map and report of the West in 1844, the Salt Lake region of Utah was chosen as the Mormons' destination. Young and his devotees made plans for an exodus to this new land. By 1846 the Mormon migration had begun.
By 1846 the trek had already begun, with the Salt Lake region of Utah as its destination.
The historic district in the town of Nauvoo contains streets, 18 restored houses, shops, and a visitor center. This site contains 1,100 acres of authentically restored homes and shops, including Brigham Young's home.