Just outside of St. George, Utah, resides a monument complex dedicated to a group of people that were killed in the area as they were attempting to move across the country. The Mountain Meadows Massacre Site is a testament to what it means to create a monument that ensures the legacy of the past is honored in the present and also serves as a guideline for the future.
A Massacre by Militiamen
In early September of 1857, about 140 people camped in the valley where the monument complex now resides. The group consisted of families who had packed all of their worldly possessions with them to start a new life in California.
On September 7th, the group was attacked by Mormon militiamen who were caught up in the Utah War, and wanted to make it look as if Native Americans were perpetrating this act of violence. After several days of intense fighting, the militiamen were able to gain access to the group’s encampment under a white flag of truce, at which point they proceeded to massacre the majority of the party. Seventeen children, all younger than seven, were the only survivors.
The first monument for the victims was built two years after the massacre over the gravesite of numerous victims. It consisted of a simple stone cairn topped with a cedar cross and a small granite marker. In 1932, a protective stone wall was built around the site. In 1999, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints replaced the U.S. Army’s cairn and the 1932 memorial wall with a second monument, which it now maintains.
That maintenance extends to the entire Mountain Meadows Massacre Site, which consists of multiple memorials to the people that died in these hills.
Memorials to All Who Died
The Mountain Meadows Massacre Memorial consists of four specific memorial sites. The Overlook Memorial features a memorial wall at the top of a small hill with names of the victims engraved on a granite wall. The Gravesite Memorial is a rock cairn that marks the resting place of at least 30 victims of the massacre. The other two sites are the Memorial to the Men and Older Boys and the Memorial to the Women, Children and Wounded.
All of these memorials are within the same general area, although they’re not all within walking distance of one another. Each of the sites features numerous plaques that provide visitors with more information about the people and history associated with the area and event, which ranges from insight about the siege and campsite to recollections from survivors to statements from the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Additionally, each of these memorial sites displays the names of the people who died in the location, but there are also active efforts to recognize how the event can and does impact the present.
Honoring the Past and Commemorating the Present
Similar to other monuments designed to remember a set of individuals, the names of the victims of the Mountain Meadows Massacre have been engraved in granite and are displayed on numerous plaques throughout the area. However, there are also active displays of remembrance throughout each memorial. Flowers and wreaths are continually placed on both the Gravesite Memorial as well as the Memorial to the Men and Older Boys. These active commemorations showcase how the event and monument are an important part of the present-day community.
That community is fostered by the Mountain Meadows Association, which is a volunteer organization that works to identify, remember, and honor those killed in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The organization maintains a list of all of the victims of the Massacre, and their efforts helped ensure that the site was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2011.
Being able to leave flowers for the victims as well as to create items like the Remembrance & Reconciliation Quilt have connected individuals and families with others who have been directly and indirectly impacted by the event. Doing so has created a legacy that is about far more than the tragedy that happened at this place.
A Legacy of Peace, Faith and Courage
The tragedy that took place in these hills was a culmination of violence, mistrust and fear that the Mountain Meadows Massacre Site is designed to ensure is never forgotten. Doing so has allowed the people in the area to move past the awful event that occurred here to make sure that peace, faith and courage are what guides the community of the present and future.
