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Pioneers
The Latter-day Saints (as Church members are called) were driven by mobs from their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846. They crossed Iowa and spent the winter at Winter Quarters, Nebraska, near present day Omaha. Under the direction of Brigham Young, the first pioneer company left Winter Quarters in the spring of 1847, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley on 24 July 1847. The trip was about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers).
From 1847 to 1869:
- Pioneer companies traveled by covered wagons, horses, or handcarts as they crossed the plains.
- Many thousands of people came from other countries, especially Great Britain and Scandinavia.
- Pioneers came to the western United States to build new lives and to worship God.
- Over 70,000 people crossed the plains to reach Salt Lake City (and more arrived after the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869).
- Families spread from Salt Lake City to settle a large area of the western United States.
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The Church
