24th July 1847: Mormon pioneers arrive in the Salt Lake Valley, led by Brigham Young скачать в хорошем качестве

24th July 1847: Mormon pioneers arrive in the Salt Lake Valley, led by Brigham Young

Persecution of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, had led to a series of migrations from the eastern United States. After being driven from settlements in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, Church leaders decided to seek a new home in the west, outside the boundaries of the United States at the time. In 1846, they began the Mormon Exodus, led by Brigham Young who had taken leadership of the Church following the death of founder Joseph Smith. 143 men, 3 women, and 2 children left Winter Quarters (now Omaha, Nebraska) in April 1847. After travelling more than 1,000 miles across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, the party entered the Salt Lake Valley on 24 July 1847. Young, who was ill at the time, reportedly viewed the valley and declared, “This is the right place” due to its isolation, available water supply from mountain streams, and potential for agriculture, despite the arid environment. The pioneers quickly began surveying the land, planting crops, and laying out the city according to a grid system based on Joseph Smith’s earlier ideas for a “Plat of Zion,” with wide streets and large blocks. The settlers constructed irrigation ditches to channel water from nearby creeks to farmland, initiating one of the earliest large-scale irrigation systems in the western United States. The following years saw further groups of Mormon pioneers arrive, and the settlement became the centre of Mormon life and governance. When the Utah Territory was established by the U.S. government in 1850, Salt Lake City became its capital.