City: Omaha, NE

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (402) 453-9372

Address: 3215 State St.

Description: The Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters marks one moment on the group’s long exodus across the United States that eventually landed them in Utah. In 1846, the Mormons were driven from their homes in Illinois; they left in search of “a new Zion.” They traveled by foot, many of them pulling handcarts, and after crossing through Iowa settled for the winter of 1846 on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River. They built hundreds of shelters along the river banks, and aimed to rest—the journey had been a harrowing one—at the site through the winter. Though the camp was cold and food was scarce, the real problems came with sickness: scurvy, tuberculosis, consumption, malaria, and other maladies plagued the group; by the end of the season, more than 600 people perished.At the center, visitors can try pulling a handcart, learn about the hardships Mormons faced, and view the final resting place of the more than 300 people who died during the winter of 1846.