Kanesville Memorial

The First Presidency, sculpted by Stan Watts in 2003, is featured prominently at the memorial. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Missouri River Valley is remarkable. At a do-or-die time for many Latter-day Saints, the valley became a crossroads for a church that would become a global faith. Fleeing from religious persecution in Nauvoo, Illinois, the Saints and Church leadership were forced to take a step into the unknown in February 1846. After months of trudging across mud-laden Iowa prairies, they arrived in the Missouri River Valley in June 1846, friendless and penniless.

By the fall of that year, many were living in mud dugouts and cabins on the west side of the Missouri River, in a place dubbed Winter Quarters. Ill-prepared for the winter months, as many as five hundred Latter-day Saints died and were buried in several cemeteries.1 In the depths of these difficulties, the Lord gave Brigham Young his will concerning the gathering of Latter-day Saints in the West—a revelation now canonized as Doctrine and Covenants section 136. In this revelation, the Lord provided the blueprint for a way forward.2

In July 1847, thousands of Saints began arriving in the Great Salt Lake Valley. With plans to build a new temple, the darkness of Winter Quarters shifted to the clarity of establishing Zion in the West. Significantly, events that would take place on the east side of the Missouri River helped make that shift possible. Many Saints, unable to make the journey West, established dozens of settlements on the east side of the river as they prepared for their eventual journey to Zion. Those already living in Winter Quarters were instructed to abandon the site and relocate to the east side of the Missouri by April 1848.3 By then there were more Saints in these settlements than in the Salt Lake Valley. Kanesville (known as Council Bluffs today) became the hub of those settlements. Originally identified as Miller’s Hollow, after early Latter-day Saint settler and bishop Henry Miller, the settlement was renamed Kanesville in honor of Thomas L. Kane, who befriended and helped the Saints at a time of great difficulty.4

Today, many Latter-day Saints do not remember what occurred in Kanesville, instead focusing on the difficulties and tragedies at Winter Quarters. A new memorial at Kanesville has been established to help the current and future generations recognize its place in Latter-day Saint history. The following photo essay will outline the significant events that took place in or near Kanesville and the developments that led to a new memorial there. It will also bring into focus both the Winter Quarters and the Kanesville memorials as appropriate reminders of Latter-day Saints’ history in the Missouri River Valley.

Dedication party at the Winter Quarters Memorial, 1936. Courtesy Church History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Winter Quarters Memorial

Monuments and memorials often play important roles in facilitating the longevity of a collective memory of a place. For Winter Quarters that process began for the Church in 1936 when President Heber J. Grant dedicated the Winter Quarters Memorial. The memorial is located on the west side of the river at one of the original Winter Quarters cemeteries, known previously as the Pioneer Mormon Cemetery, in Omaha, Nebraska. Avard Fairbanks’s heroic-sized sculpture titled Tragedy at Winter Quarters is situated at the center of the memorial. Its depiction of a father and mother mourning the loss of a child captures the feeling and history of the events that took place there. Fairbanks, a Latter-day Saint sculptor and descendant of some of the people buried in the cemetery, created the sculpture and accompanying memorial to honor not only those buried at Winter Quarters but all who died in their journey to Zion.5 With the assistance of landscape architect Irvin T. Nelson, Fairbanks created a masterpiece in the art deco design and landscape architecture tradition of the time.6 Construction of the Mormon Trail Center across the street in 1997 and the 2001 dedication of the Winter Quarters Temple have increased the visibility of the memorial.

Reproductions and photographs of the central sculpture have made the image a familiar one among Latter-day Saints. Unfortunately, when disconnected from the surrounding memorial landscape, viewers are unable to appreciate its fuller meaning. Intentionally situated some distance away from the surrounding streets and nestled in an alcove of trees and bushes, the location of the memorial is meant to set it apart from the outside world.7

On one level, the memorial juxtaposes the death and suffering experienced at Winter Quarters, illustrated in the central sculpture, with the power of the Resurrection of the Savior Jesus Christ, depicted in the landscape. The reality of the suffering experienced by those who lost loved ones is made more dramatic by the demarcation of several grave locations, with at least one child on the floor of the monument.8 Embedded into the floor of the monument are also scriptures highlighting the power of the Savior to save as well as stanzas from William Clayton’s pioneer anthem “Come, Come Ye Saints.”

The Winter Quarters Memorial contrasts the sorrow and suffering experienced by those who buried loved ones at Winter Quarters with the hope of the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. From 2020 to 2021, the memorial underwent a substantial restoration. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

When facing the twelve-foot statue, visitors see a large bronze relief at their feet, listing the known names of many who were interred in the cemetery. The names surround a central figure representing eternal life. Radiating from the central figure are rays of light cast in bronze, which continue outward in the seams of the terrazzo floor of the monument—the seams intersecting with the demarcation of graves. Evergreen juniper bushes were planted in the identified grave locations. Alongside the juniper bushes, bronze pine boughs grace the floor of the monument, representing the hope of eternal life. The floor of the memorial, intentionally placed below grade, invites those visiting the grave sites and contemplating the story of Winter Quarters to take several steps up to ground level, symbolizing eternal progression upward.9

On another level, the material chosen to construct the monument and the selection of accompanying plantings and trees communicate yet another message. The Tragedy at Winter Quarters sculpture rests on a plinth composed of the quartz monzonite or granite from Little Cottonwood Canyon—the same variety used in the construction of the Salt Lake Temple. The twin cemetery entry pylons and steps and the surrounding pathways are composed of sandstone brought from Utah—sandstone being a material used in many Latter-day Saint pioneer buildings, including the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Colorado Blue Spruce (once the state tree of Utah), Rocky Mountain Juniper, and Douglas Fir (often called Red Pine by the pioneers) trees were planted in various locations around the cemetery representing offices of Church leadership, such as the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Presiding Bishopric. They also planted trees representing the pioneer man and pioneer woman.10 Selecting materials and vegetation for the memorial indicative of the Latter-day Saint Zion in the Great Basin represented an effort to symbolically bring Zion, the destination of the trek West, to those who were unable to join the Saints there. The eventual construction of a temple on adjoining land, once a part of the historic cemetery, completes the symbolic message.

Reconstructed Kanesville Tabernacle, Visitors’ Center, and First Presidency Statue. Courtesy Valerie Anderson.

Kanesville Tabernacle

For years, the Winter Quarters Memorial was the only monument commemorating the Saints’ experience in the area. However, in the mid-1990s, several local members who appreciated the significant history of the Church in Kanesville pooled their resources to commemorate the events that took place there. They purchased land in downtown Council Bluffs to establish a site for sharing these events—chief among them the reorganization of the First Presidency in 1847.

Following the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the necessity of reorganizing the First Presidency remained unclear to Church leaders. As President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Brigham Young assumed primary leadership for the Church. Yet, without a First Presidency, all decisions required majority support of the Twelve. With the Church scattered along the 1,400 miles of trail between Nauvoo and the Salt Lake Valley, oversight of the emigration to and settlement of the Great Basin was onerous. And what of the Apostles’ role to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations of the earth? After pondering these issues, Brigham Young gathered all the available members of the Quorum of the Twelve to discuss the question in the area that would become known as Kanesville.11

The Twelve Apostles soon came to a consensus that the First Presidency should be reorganized, with Brigham Young as President of the Church and Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards as counselors. It was determined that the decision should be presented to the Church membership for a sustaining vote. Within a matter of weeks, a new log meetinghouse was constructed for the meeting. The Saints built the structure so quickly that they did not cure the cottonwood timbers. On December 27, 1847, the general membership sustained a new First Presidency in the log structure they called a tabernacle.12 This reconstitution enabled the Twelve to focus more on taking the gospel message across the globe in the years that followed and had a far-reaching impact on the effort to spread the Lord’s kingdom that continues in the global Church today.

Damaged by spring runoffs in 1848 and 1849, the original Kanesville Tabernacle only survived for a brief period.13 Nearly 150 years later, a group of local members and nonmembers formed Kanesville Restoration, Inc. for the purpose of reconstructing the tabernacle to honor the events of 1847. The group purchased a parcel one block southeast of where the original tabernacle once stood.14 Drawing upon plans for the tabernacle sketched by Thomas Bullock in 1847, the organization, working with the Pottawattamie County Mormon Trails Association, funded and oversaw the reconstruction of the tabernacle.15 It was determined to use uncured cottonwood, just as the early Saints had done. The tabernacle was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley on July 13, 1996, as part of a sesquicentennial celebration of the Saints’ departure from Nauvoo.16 In 1999, ownership and operation of the site, including a gift shop that was later converted into a visitors’ center, was turned over to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the years that followed, exhibits and a film explaining priesthood leadership and the reorganization of the First Presidency were added. A sculpture of the First Presidency by Stan Watts, the most prominent additional feature, was added in 2003.17

Because the tabernacle was reconstructed of uncured cottonwood, it was anticipated that the timbers would eventually shrink. By 2018, extensive twisting, shrinking, and weakening of the structure made it evident that the building had reached the end of its life. The tabernacle was formally closed in 2020 and removed in April 2022.18

Kanesville Significance

Replacing the razed tabernacle was a unique challenge for the historic sites program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Because the reconstructed tabernacle was not located on the site of the original tabernacle and there were not any physical remains upon which to base a restoration, rebuilding the tabernacle did not align with the principles upon which other historic buildings and properties had been reconstructed or restored by the Church. Accurate locations, landscapes, and building restorations (and in a few instances reconstructions) are essential to maintaining authentic immersive settings that bear witness of the reality of the Restoration.

When developing or refreshing sites or exhibits, the historic sites team of the Church History Department begins with defining the significant messages that must be shared for the site to fulfil its purpose.19 In considering what should be shared at this site, the team felt that three other key events that took place in or near Kanesville, in addition to the reorganization of the First Presidency, offered a profound witness of the Lord’s hand in the ongoing restoration of his Church and the faith of the Saints.

One important story was about the settlement of the area itself. Although Kanesville served as the primary settlement in the Missouri River Valley and headquarters for the Church in the area, the Saints established dozens of other settlements in the valley. From 1846 to 1852, they developed farms and businesses and built homes, even though they knew their stay in the area would be temporary. These efforts played a vital role in supporting the Saints in their journey West.20 As one scholar explained, these settlements functioned like a “springboard” for the migration West.21 The settlements, homes, farms, and businesses would all play a foundational role in the growth and establishment of Council Bluffs in years to come.22

Gateway sign at the parking entrance of the Kanesville Memorial. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Another story which took place near the site is the mustering of the Mormon Battalion.23 Prior to leaving Nauvoo, Church leaders sought federal financial support in exchange for establishing trails on their trek West.24 With the encouragement of Thomas L. Kane, a social reformer and friend to the Latter-day Saints, U.S. President James K. Polk determined to ask the Church for military assistance to support the United States in the Mexican American War. Captain James Allen was dispatched to the prairies of Iowa to seek out and enlist Church members. Many Saints felt bitter about the call. They remembered that the United States government had not come to their aid in Missouri and Illinois. Nevertheless, at the urging of Brigham Young, nearly five hundred volunteers joined the battalion and left behind family members, trusting that their sacrifice would support the Church’s trek West. Ultimately, the soldiers’ pay played an important role in the financial needs of the Church as it weathered migration costs.25

Finally, Kanesville was the location in which Oliver Cowdery returned to fellowship with the Church.26 Cowdery served as Joseph Smith’s scribe for most of the translation of the Book of Mormon, was present at the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, was designated as the second elder of the Church, and was a primary witness of the Restoration. When he had a falling out with the Prophet, he lost his membership in 1838. Several years later, Oliver desired to return. Friends and family ministering to Oliver over the years played a vital role in his decision to come back. In October 1848, he declared once again his testimony of the restored gospel and priesthood to the earth and was rebaptized by Orson Hyde, whom he had ordained as an Apostle years earlier.27 The return of Oliver Cowdery and his testimony of the restoration of the priesthood was an endorsement of the priesthood authority and leadership of the Twelve Apostles and the new First Presidency.

Kanesville Memorial

The significance of these events to the history of the Church necessitated sharing their messages at the site once occupied by the reconstructed tabernacle. But without any of these events taking place at this specific location or original buildings to restore, the Church History Department determined the messages could be shared most effectively in a landscape setting. Concept development for the Kanesville Memorial began in January 2021. While the project necessitated removing the tabernacle, as mentioned above, the historic sites team worked to retain as much of the former visitor experience as possible. Because the First Presidency and Henry Miller sculptures facilitated sharing the key messages of the site, they were incorporated into the new landscape designs. Construction formally began in June 2023, and on September 28, 2024, Elder Kyle S. McKay, Church Historian and Recorder, dedicated the Kanesville Memorial Historic Site. The dedication was attended by local members as well as ecclesiastical and civic leaders.

The memorial consists of historical waysides (interpretive signs), bronze sculptures and memorials, native landscaping, and a welcome center. The design of the walkways, spaces for waysides, and size of those spaces directly facilitate the sharing of the site’s key messages. The Kanesville Memorial is a self-guided experience. Additional information about the Latter-day Saint settlement in the Missouri River Valley, the Mormon Battalion, and the reorganization of the First Presidency are available in the welcome center, which has received modest updates as part of the recent reinterpretation of the site. Below are photographs outlining the visitor experience at the new Kanesville Memorial.

Upon entry at the Kanesville Memorial, the first historical wayside describes the Saints’ circumstances when they arrived in the Missouri River Valley, their efforts to establish communities in the area, and their religious motivations to support the poor and those emigrating West. To the right of the wayside is a sculpture by Robert Keiser, depicting Henry Miller, who was a bishop in the early settlement and who played a leading role in building the first tabernacle in the area. The settlement was originally known as Miller’s Hollow but was subsequently renamed Kanesville in 1848, after Thomas L. Kane. The memorial’s grasses, trees, and shrubs are varieties typical of the Iowa and Nebraska prairie. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Moving down the pathway to the right of the statue of Henry Miller, visitors find a wayside that tells the story of the enlistment and mustering of the Mormon Battalion in 1847 near what would become Kanesville. The wayside features a bronze footprint, introducing a series of footprints embedded in the pathway. Because the story of the battalion’s march and arrival in California is told at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site at San Diego, the Kanesville Memorial focuses on the departure of the battalion and the faith and sacrifice made by wives, mothers, and sisters who trusted that the Lord would preserve their loved ones and bless them to complete their own journey West.

Representing one of the five Mormon Battalion companies, composed of approximately one hundred members, one hundred bronze footprints move southeast in pairs, symbolic of the battalion’s southeast march to Fort Leavenworth for fitting out before heading West. They come in small, medium, and large sizes, with five of the one hundred footprints representing women who served as laundresses. Omaha sculptor Matthew Placzek designed the footprints, recreating their sizes based on the soles from period shoes and boots on display in the Riser Boot and Shoe Shop in Historic Nauvoo in Illinois. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The bronze footprints lead to waysides and accompanying memorials telling the stories of Fanny Taggart, Elizabeth Hyde, Sophronia Standage, Drusilla Hendricks, and Sarah Allen. These women and their families bade farewell to loved ones who departed with the Mormon Battalion. In doing so, they faced an unknown future with great faith. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

At the end of the footprints, a final wayside continues the stories of the five women and their families. As visitors look back at the footprints passing by the memorials, they might consider the courage and sacrifice of those women and the members of their families. The memorials are composed of painted stainless steel and were designed by Matthew Placzek. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The sculpture of the First Presidency in December 1847—Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards—is the centerpiece of the memorial, surrounded by a seat wall, prairie grass, and trees. A wayside tells the story of the reorganization of the First Presidency in 1847. A map shows where the Twelve Apostles went to preach the gospel in the years following the reorganization of the First Presidency. It is hoped that this will evolve into a solemn and enclosed space as the trees develop. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Close-up of the statue of the First Presidency. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A wayside shares the story of Oliver Cowdery’s return to fellowship in the Church and his significant role and witness to the early days of the Restoration. The juxtaposition of a memorial with Oliver’s testimony of the priesthood in view of the First Presidency sculpture is intended to evoke an appreciation for the continuation of priesthood authority, leadership, and revelation in the formation of a new First Presidency. Courtesy Julie West.

Close-up on the testimony of the restoration of the priesthood shared by Oliver Cowdery in Kanesville in 1848. The story shared about Oliver Cowdery at the Kanesville Memorial focuses on his testimony of the priesthood rather than his return and rebaptism. Matthew Placzek created the bronze memorial. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Gathering at the dedication of the Kanesville Memorial on September 28, 2024. Photograph by Leslie Nilsson; courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Epilogue

Although the Latter-day Saints were in the Missouri River Valley for a short time, the significance of the events that took place there were pivotal to the future of the Church. Unfortunately, little historical fabric remains due to the transient nature of their time in the area. In 1936, when the Church took over management of the Pioneer Mormon Cemetery (now the Winter Quarters Cemetery), only a few headstones remained from the 1840s.28 The 1936 addition of the Winter Quarters Memorial helps honor the memory of Latter-day Saint pioneer forebearers who sacrificed their lives to establish Zion in the West. The completion of the Kanesville Memorial in 2024 honors the other significant events of the Missouri River Valley. These two memorials are unique among the historic sites of the Church. They invite visitors to symbolically stand with the pioneers burying their dead or walk in their footprints to an unknown future with only hope in the Savior that they will see their loved ones again, either in this life or the next. It is hoped visitors will come away with a deeper appreciation for the sacrifice of those pioneers and a fuller awareness of the great things the Lord has done and will do for his children.