Tags
Emigration Canyon, Mormon Pioneers, Parley's Canyon, Pioneer Trail, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County
The last mountain pass on the Mormon Pioneer Trail near the end of a dreary thousand mile trek from the Missouri River to the Great Salt Lake Valley, can be seen northwest from this point. Thankfully called by the first company of Pioneers “Last Mountain” it was later known as Little Mountain pass and descended into Emigration Canyon from which they entered their Promised Land on July 24, 1847 under the leadership of Brigham Young. About 2,000 other settlers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley the same year. In all, more than 80,000 Mormon emigrants followed this old trail before the coming of the railroad in 1869. Of these, approximately 6,000 lie buried along the way in unmarked graves. The first road down Parley’s Canyon was opened in 1850 by Parley P. Pratt, but after a short time fell into disuse. About 15 years later it was reopened as the main eastern gateway to the Salt Lake Valley.
