Mountain Meadows is a small valley in extreme southwestern Utah, where, in 1857, a party of some 140 emigrants bound for California were massacred. It was a period when friction between Mormons and non-Mormons was acute, with Mormons bitterly resenting the coming of U.S. troops to enforce federal laws in their territory. Earlier that year a Mormon convocation had declared the independence of Utah from the United States, and Mormon hostility toward westward-bound travelers had escalated. In September of 1857, a party of emigrants from Arkansas, with a few from Missouri and Illinois, led by Charles Francher, encamped at Mountain Meadows, a well-known camp site on the Spanish Trail. There they were attacked by a large band of Mormons, many disguised as members of the local Paiute tribe, allegedly accompanied by real Paiutes and apparently led by Mormon John D. Lee.
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| Elevation: |
- Dan Sill HIll Memorial: 5,898 feet
- Grave Site Memorial: 5,648 feet
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| Facilities: |
Vault toilet at Grave Site Memorial. |
| Directions: |
- From St. George drive north on Utah Highway 18 for about 30 miles. Look for the signs indicating the parking lot on Dan Sill Hill on the right side of the road.
- From Cedar City drive west on Utah Highway 56 for about 35 miles, to the intersection of Utah Highways 56 and 18. Turn south on Highway 18 and drive about 11 miles to Enterprise. Continue south about another 5 miles to the Mountain Meadows turnoff.
- Just as you begin to drive into the main parking lot for the 1990 monument, there is a dirt road on the left. The dirt road goes to the old monument in the valley that was rebuilt in 1999.
- Get directions from Google Maps.
- Get directions from MapQuest.
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| Coordinates: |
Map Coordinates (NAD83):
- Dan Sill Hill Memorial: 37 28.617N; 113 37.951W
- Grave Site Memorial: 37 28.529N; 113 38.621W
- Highway 18 Entrance: 37 28.705N; 113 37.678W
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| Weather: |
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