The Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters is a museum and visitors' center of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

located in the

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

neighborhood of

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The museum interprets the story of the

Mormon Trail The Mormon Trail is the long route from Illinois to Utah that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled for 3 months. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System, known as the Mormon ...

along with the history of a temporary

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

settlement known as Winter Quarters, which was located in the Florence area between 1846–1848. The museum is located on a bluff above and to the west of the Winter Quarters settlement site and is directly across the street from the historic

Mormon Pioneer Cemetery The Mormon Pioneer Cemetery is located at 3300 State Street in present-day Florence at the north end of Omaha, Nebraska. The Cemetery is the burial site of hundreds of Mormon pioneers who lived in Winter Quarters, a temporary settlement that la ...

and the

Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple The Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple is the 104th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is located in Florence, now a neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, USA, and formerly an independent city. History W ...

History

Early Visitors' Center

Prior to the construction of the current center, a small remodeled house had served as a visitors' center for tourists coming to see Florence and the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery. This center was closed on August 1, 1995 in preparation for the construction of the new museum, and trailers served as a temporary center for visitors during the building process.

Current Museum

The new museum, constructed of red brick, has 11,000 square feet of display space and a large lower level. It opened at the end of 1996 with a preview of partially completed exhibits and that year's gingerbread house display. The museum was dedicated by Church President

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

on April 18, 1997. The dedication was part of that year's sesquicentennial celebration of Brigham Young's Vanguard Company leaving Winter Quarters, trekking across the United States, and arriving in Mexico's

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total po ...

in 1847. In 1998 a life-sized statue of a Mormon handcart family was placed on a round, concrete pedestal in front of the museum. The statue was created by Latter-day Saint sculptor Franz M. Johansen.

Exhibits

Christmas Gingerbread Houses

In 1985 an annual Christmas

gingerbread house Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as ...

display was established in the old visitors' center. The annual event continued following the construction of the new museum and has become a popular local tradition, with nearly 300 gingerbread houses on display during the 2018 Christmas season (additional gingerbread houses are also put on display at the nearby

Kanesville Tabernacle The Kanesville Tabernacle was a large, hastily constructed log building in Council Bluffs, Iowa that was created specifically for the event of the reorganization of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Churc ...

Zion in the Wilderness

The current museum opened with an exhibit titled "Zion in the Wilderness - from Temple City to Temple City." The exhibit contains three phases, the first, titled "An American Exodus," interprets the Mormon Exodus from Navuoo,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, along with the story of the Mormon Trail (and its many refugee camps) across

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. The second phase, titled "At the Bluff," tells the history of Winter Quarters and surrounding settlements, and the final phase "Gathering to Zion" shares the story of the Mormon Trail from Winter Quarters to the Salt Lake Valley.

References

External links

Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters
- churchofjesuschrist.org - Historic Sites {{LDSsites Significant places in Mormonism Mormon Trail Mormon museums in the United States