The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-07-13
THE OLD MORMON TRAIL.
pes Moines People In Party Which
Will Traverse Early
Route.

Will Traverse Early
Route.
Des Moines Register and Leader,
18th inst: The old Mormon trail In
southern Iowa, Travelled by the Nor
mons and later by the gold seekers on
their way to California In 1876, is to
be traversed again.
Mr.. and Mrs. H. R. Howell of Des
Moines, Miss Harriet Lake of INDIE
pendence and Mr.. and Mrs. Edgar R.
Harlan OF Des Moines will comprise
the party
The trip will be made by automobile.
The party will leave Des Moines this
morning at O'Clock for Council
Bluffs, where the old trail will be To-
Gated and followed back across the
state to Keokuk.
The idea of looking up the old trail
originated with the Daughters Of the
American Revolution, and committee
was appointed to inspect the route for
the purpose of determining the advis-
ability Of marking it with suitable
monuments.
The D. A. R. committee consists OF
Mrs. H. r. Howell, Miss Harriet
Lake, Mrs. Lottie-Dodge Montgom
cry of Council Bluffs, Mrs. Hazen /
Sawyer of Keokuk and Mrs. Laura R,
Gibbon of Charlton.
Harlans Are Guests.
Mr. Harlan is curator of the state
historical department. He and his
wife accompany the party as guests Of
Mrs. Howell. The curator plans or
securing much valuable information
and relics for his department by rea
son of the trip.
The old Mormon trail Is lost In
many places over the state by reason
of the fact that after the coming Of
the steam roads travel over the trail
practically stopped. Then farmers
cut up the country into fields and the
trail was plowed up and converted il
crop producing land
| BY the use of early maps the party
| will be able to travel over the trail
| for great distance and always viii
be able to stay within a half mile O
| it in the counties where it Is lost il
fields.
Curator Aldrich has traced the roat
from Keokuk to Abba by walking. HI
made the trip several years ago. fol
lowing the trace through cornfieid
and over the ridges.
Auto to Bluffs.
I'VE will go by automobile to Coun
Gil Bluffs and from there eastward
across the state, tracing as far as W.
can the emigrant trail of the days o
the California rush. said Curato
i Harlan yesterday. 81 have spent SOM
time in the collection of data upon tn
location of this early trail and hav
been very much surprised and please,
to notice that in the first land survey
of counties westward from Davi
county that the government surveyor
indicated the trail as they did othe
important land marks. They dc
nominate it the Mormon trail.
! These land surveys were made be
fore the general occupancy OF tina
I part of Iowa, and before there wer
many well defined travel ways 80 tina
the surveyors found this about tn
only one sufficiently important to b
noted in the diagrams filed with tn
United States government.
This trail went in general
western course from the north tier O
townships in Appanoose county
through the southwest corner of Nor
roe county, southern portions of Luca
and Clarke counties, through tn
northeast corner of Union, the south
ern part of Cass and the souther
part of Pottawattamie.
Was Heavily Travelled.
1t received an important volume c
: travel during the height Of its impor
ance at various points. These point
were where the travel from the ferrie
of the Des Moines river Joined tn
Mormon trail. The most important {
these contributing trails was the Fol
Des Moines road OR trail which joine
the Mormon trail near the west line {
Cass county.
st is most interesting fact ths
when the railroads paralleled the stat
! it practically cut off the travel alon
the old Mormon trail Or the Californi
trail, as some have called it, and the
I received no particular attention ther
{ after until the coming of automobile
D and the opening of the pleasure an
business traffic by these.
When the automobiles began the
i trips across the state they found tt
d easy levels pursued by the old c
i teams to have been destroyed to SON
c extent by the fencing of the ope
grounds.
Now Follow Railroads.
II Consequently they crowded II
e roads from tho natural levels ar