Today In History: The Mormon Trail

Mormon leader Brigham Young and his followers arrived in the valley of the Great Salt Lake in present-day Utah 151 years ago, on July 24, 1847.

In 1847, thousands of Mormons began a westward trek after being driven from their homes in Missouri and Illinois. Joseph Smith, the leader of the Mormon Church, was murdered in Illinois.

To flee religious persecution, they forged a 1,300-mile trail into the Great Salt Lake Valley. It was the largest forced migration in North America. Over a period of nearly two decades, more than 70,000 faithful Mormon pioneers crossed the plains. About 6,000 of them died trying.