Iowa Heritage Illustrated

Behrens, Roy R

Iowa's Contribution to Camouflage

Hailey-Dunsheath, Megan

Save Them Before They Fall': Cordelia Throop Cole and the WCTU's Social Purity Movement

Zaring, Noah

Competition in Benevolence: Civil War Soldiers' Aid in Iowa

Welter, Jenny

Index for 1996
compiled by Jenny Welter
Note: Numbers in bold denote images.
Advertising, 146-51 
African Americans, 122-44 
“After the Mormon Exodus," by Bettie 
McKenzie, 86-87 
Airplanes, 2-9, 2-9 
Alcott, Bronson, 102,116-17,116 
Allison, Nellie, 146 
Ambly, Tilda, 149-50
Autobiographical writings, 118-21. See also 
Diaries 
Aviation, 2-9 
Baker, Josephine, 141 
Baldwin, Caleb, 17 
Bawden Bros. Inc., 34 
Benda, Milo, 91, 92 
Benedict Home (Des Moines), 109-10 
Benson, Flip, Fall front cover 
Bettis, Wesley, 142 
Blair, W.W., 86 
Bloomer, Amelia, 14-15,17 
Bogh, Elmer and Myme, 68 
Books, Spring inside back cover 
Boosterism, 146-51 
Brewer, A1 "Hinky," 144 
The Brigade of Beauty in Advertising Cos­
tumes': Merchants' Carnivals in Iowa," by 
Paul C. Juhl, 146-51 
Briggs, E.C., 86
Briggs, Mary Wear, "Sunbonnets," 118-21 
Briggs, Melvin James and Volney, 11 
Bronson Alcott Visits Mt. Pleasant," by 
Ginalie Swaim, 116-17 
Brorby, Josie, 150
Brown, Pauline: See Humphrey, Pauline 
(Brown)
Brown, S. Joe, 127
Businesses: See Merchants' carnivals 
Campbell, Ed, 67 
Capitol (steamboat), 33 
Catholicism, 120-21
Center Street (Des Moines), 122-44,122-44 
Central Association of Colored Women, 139 
Chaburn, Jonas, 86 
Champion of Progress, The, 115 
Chapman, Lawrence ]., 126 
Charivaris: See Shivarees 
Children: and social welfare, 172-90 
Children's organizations, 172-90 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 
Sec Mormons 
Civil War, 10-23, 24
Cole, Cordelia Throop, 98-115,116-17, 99,
100,104
Cole, William, 101-15,101,114 
Competition in Benevolence: Civil War Sol­
diers' Aid in Iowa," by Noah Zaring, 10-23 
Corinthian Baptist Church (Des Moines), 137 
Corn husking contests, 38 
Council Bluffs (Iowa): See Kanesville 
Cowles, Austin, 87 
Curtis, Samuel Ryan, 43, 44 
Cutler, Alpheus, 87
Davenport (Iowa), 25-41
Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences:
See Putnam Museum of History and Natu­
ral Science 
Davis, Harriet, 56 
Dawson, Jacob, 83 
Decorah (Iowa), 148-51 
Delta Sigma Theta (Des Moines), 139 
Derry, Charles, 87 
Des Moines (Iowa), 122-44, 172-90 
Des Moines Capital, 172-90 
Dial of Progress, The, 115 
Diaries, 65, 70-73
Domestic life, 118-21, Winter inside cover.
See also Social life and customs 
Dubuque (Iowa), 24, 69 
Dunham, Agnes, 67, 69 
Eclipse, 28
Effinger, John and Lucretia, 103 
Eisenhower, Dwight, 41 
Electricity: See Hydroelectric power 
Ely, Eugene, 5, 5, Spring back cover 
"Emilie Blackmore Stapp and her Go-Hawks 
Happy Tribe: A World War I Children's 
Crusade," bv Louise Rosenfield Noun, 
172-90
Fairfield (Iowa), 44, 46 
"Floyd Nagler's Passion for Water Power," 
by Cornelia F. Mutel, 152-56 
Folk arts, 88-96, 88-96, Summer back cover 
Foote, Warren, 71, 73 
Fort Des Moines, 123 
Fort, Benjamin Franklin, 30 
Foss, Clifford, 92, 93
"From the Parlor to the Pink Barn: The Com­
mercialization of Weddings in the Rural 
Midwest," by Katherine Jellison, 50-65 
Frontier Guardian, 74-85 
Gaiter, Charles, 142 
Garden Grove (Iowa), 86 
Gender issues, 10-23. See also Weddings 
Go-Hawks Happy Tribe, 172-90 
Gold rush, 76, 79-82 
Gooch, John, 77, 81 
Goodenow, Calvin and Elizabeth, 68 
Goodwin, Gerald, 66, 67 
Grandpa (steamboat), 33 
Gray, Arbelia and James, 129 
Gray Brothers Band, 141,142 
Gray, Howard, 142 
Griffin, Mildred, 137 
Grubb, James, 40
Hailey-Dunsheath, Megan, "'Save Them Be­
fore They Fall': Cordelia Throop Cole and 
the WCTU's Social Purity Movement," 98- 
115
Hampton (Iowa), 109,108 
Harlan, Ann and James, 19 
Harris, Dick, 90, 90 
Harrison County (Iowa), 119-21 
Hascall, Ursulia, 73 
Hatch, Mac, 91, 91 
Health issues: See Civil War 
1 lickson, Charles, 91, 95, 95 
Historical Resource Development Program, 
25
Holidays and celebrations: Christmas, 120.
See also Merchants' carnivals 
Holmes, Emily, 146 
Homefront activities, 10-23, 24,172-90 
Hope's Bridal Boutique, 50, 63, 64, 51 
Horton, Loren N., "'The Worst That I Had
Yet Witnessed': Mormon Diarists Cross 
Iowa in 1846", 70-73 
Hostetler, John B., 31 
Howell, Mrs. J.B., 13 
Hradak, Lawrence, 89 
Humphrey, Pauline Brown, 132 
Huntington, William, 71 
Hyde, Orson, 74-85, 76 
Hydraulics, 152-56,157-71 
Hydroelectric pow’er: See Water-powered 
mills
Ida County (Iowa), 66-69 
“Image Conscious: Selections from the Pho­
tograph Collection of the Putnam Mu­
seum," by Scott Roller, 25-41 
Iowa City Soldiers' Aid Society, 22 
Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research, 152- 
56,153
Iowa Messenger, The, 108,110,114 
Iowa Sanitary Commission: See Sanitary 
commissions
Iowa State Sanitary Organization: See Sani­
tary commissions
Jellison, Katherine, "From the Parlor to the 
Pink Barn The Commercialization of Wed­
dings in the Rural Midwest," 50-65 
Jewish Community Center (Des Moines),
132
Job presses: See Printing 
Johnson, Jack, 130 
Johnson, J.E., 80
Johnson, William M., "Wings Over Iowa: 
From the Pilot's Seat," 2-9 
Journalism: See Newspapers 
Juhl, Paul C.,'" The Brigade of Beauty in Ad­
vertising Costumes': Merchants' Carnivals 
in Iowa," 146-51 
Kanesville (Iowa), 74-85 
Keokuk (Iowa), 46
Keokuk Soldiers' Aid Society: See Solders' 
aid
Keosauqua (Iowa), 87 
Killam, Arlene, 56 
King, Jack, 89
Kirkwood, Samuel, 13-15,17-19 
Klein, Arthur and Ben, 5 
Knoke, Gertrude Gottberg, 68 
Knowles, Lucretia, 14,15,17,19 
Koehn, Connie and Walt, 61 
Kolsto, Hope, 60, 63, 64 
Kyles A.M.E. Zion (Des Moines), 137 
Kynett, Alpha Jefferson, 13-23,18 
Ladies Sanitary Aid Society of Fairfield, 21 
Lamoni (Iowa), 87 
Langer, Alma Pauline, 69 
Larew, Grace: See Young, Grace 
Law, Ruth, 2, 3 
Lee, John Walter, 15 
Libraries, 102,116-17 
Liffring-Zug Collection, Fall inside back 
cover
Lily, Alma, 56 
Limkemann, David, 95, 96 
Lincoln, Abraham: 1860 campaign, 42-48 
Lucky Heart Company, 126 
Lufkin, Jack, "Patten's Neighborhood: The 
Center Street Community and the African- 
American Printer Who Preserved It," 122- 
44
Mackintosh, Daniel, 77, 78 
MacVey, Brownie L., 66 
MacVey, Florence, 67
Winter 1996 191
Manti (Iowa), 87
Marshall, Gordon, "Shivaree: A Midwestern 
Welcome to Marriage," 66-69 
Marshall, Mary, 67 
Marshall, William, 66 
Maupin, Harold, 142
McKenzie, Bettie, "After the Mormon Exo­
dus," 86-87
Merchants' carnivals, 146-51, 146-51, Winter 
front cover 
Miles, Irene, 141
Military and war: See Civil War, World War I 
Mills, 152-71, photos throughout 
Mitchell, Margaret: See Patten, Margaret 
(Mitchell)
Mormons, 70-73, 74-85, 86-87 
Mt. Pisgah (Iowa), 86
Mt. Pleasant (Iowa), 101-15, 116-17,102,104 
Music, 140-42
Mutel, Cornelia F., "Floyd Nagler's Passion 
for Water Power," 152-56; "Water-Powered 
Mills in Iowa: A Forsaken Technology," 
157-71
Nagler, Floyd, 146-51,167-68,170,146 
National Association for the Advancement 
of Colored People, 142 
Newsboys, 176-77,187 
Newspapers, 74-85,146-51,172-90 
Niebuhr, Diane and Mark, 50, 64 
Noun, Louise Rosenfield, "Emilie Blackmore 
Stapp and her Go-Hawks Happy Tribe: A 
World War I Children's Crusade," 172-90 
Occupational traditions: See Roadside art 
Ohm, Steven, "When the Work Is Done:
From Making a Living to Passing Time," 
88-96
Oliver, W. Lawrence, 124-25,134 
Oliver-Hall, Barbara, 124-25 
"On the Battle Field, In the Hospital, In the 
Parlor, At the Fair," by Ginalie Swaim, 24 
"Orson Hyde's Frontier Guardian: A Mormon 
Editor Chronicles the Westward Move­
ment through Kanesville, Iowa," by Jean 
Trumbo, 74-85 
Osage (Iowa), 146-47 
Outing Club, (Davenport), 31 
Patten, E. Hobart De, 122,125,125 
Patten, Margaret, 123,138 
Patten, Robert E., 122-44,122,124-25 
"Patten's Neighborhood: The Center Street 
Community and the African-American 
Printer Who Preserved It," by Jack Lufkin, 
122-44
Payne, Ken, 90; artwork by, Summer back 
cover
Peet, Mary Eleanor Armstrong, 65 
Peterson, Dora, 149 
Photography, history of, 25-41,146-51 
Political campaigns, 42-48, Fall inside back 
cover
Portsmouth (Iowa), 119,120 
Powers, Jack and Mollie, 118 
Powers, Nora: Sec Wear, Nora (Powers)
"'The Prairies A-Blaze': Iowa Wide Awakes 
Carry Torches for Lincoln," by Floyd and 
Marion Rinhart, 42-48 
Pratt, Orson, 71, 72 
Pratt, Parley, 73 
Printing, 122-44
Prostitution: See Social purity movement
Protheroe, Kate, 150
Public speaking: and women: See Cole,
Cordelia Throop, 184 
Putnam Museum of History and Natural 
Science (Davenport), 25-41 
Putnam, children of Mary and Charles, 27 
Putnam, Mary Louisa Duncan, 26 
Red, Ernest "Speck," 141 
Relief organizations: See Soldiers' aid; World 
War I
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter 
Day Saints (RLDS), 86-87 
Richardson, Minnie, 146 
Rinhart, Floyd and Marion, "'The Prairies A- 
Blaze': Iowa Wide Awakes Carry Torches 
for Lincoln," 42-48 
Riverboats, 32-33 
Rivers and streams: See Mills 
Roadside art, 88-96, 88-96, Summer back 
cover
Robinson, Jackie, Fall back cover
Rogers, Lucy, 31
Roller, Scott, "Image Conscious: Selections 
from the Photograph Collection of the 
Putnam Museum," 25-41 
Roller skating, 111
Rural life, 118-21; and weddings, 50-65, 66- 
69
Sacred Heart Cathedral, (Davenport), 31 
Safford, Mary Augusta, 103 
Sampson's Chicken Shack (Des Moines), 135 
Sanitary commissions, 10-23, 24 
Sanitary fairs, 24, 24 
"'Save Them Before They Fall': Cordelia 
Throop Cole and the VVCTU's Social Purity 
Movement," by Megan Hailey-Dunsheath, 
98-115
Scott County (Iowa), 25-41 
Segregation, 122,124,135,139 
Sessions, Patty Bartlett, 71, 72, 73 
Sex education and morals: See Social purity 
movement
Shelby County (Iowa), 119-21 
"Shivaree: A Midwestern Welcome to Mar­
riage," by Gordon Marshall, 66-69 
Shorey, Wilson H., 41 
Simons, George, artwork by, 78 
Smith, Alice, 56 
Smith, Gertrude Wilkinson, 29 
Smith, John Lyman, 71 
Smith, Joseph, Jr., 70 
Smith, Marcius Curtis, 29, 29 
Snow, Eliza, 70, 71, 73 
Snow, Lorenzo, 71
Social life and customs: See African Ameri­
cans, Children's organizations, Merchants' 
carnivals, Roadside art, Weddings 
Social purity movement, 98-115 
Social reform and welfare, 98-115; 172-90 
Solbrig, Mary and Oscar, 9, 9 
Soldiers' aid, 10-24 
Spates, Rufus M., 141,142 
Speeder Machinery Corporation, 35 
Spriggs, Edna and John, 127 
St. Anthony's Church (Davenport), 41 
St. Paul's A.M.E. Church (Des Moines), 137 
Stapp, Emilie Blackmore, 172-90,173,182 
State Sanitary Commission: Sec Sanitary 
commissions 
Steele, John, 70 
Stone, William, 19 
Stout, Hosea, 72, 73 
Strasser's Band, 27 
Stratton, Jonathan F„ 71
Strober, Ethel, 56
"Sunbonnets," by Mary Wear Briggs, 118-21 
Sunderbruch, Richard K., 38 
Swaim, Ginalie, "Bronson Alcott Visits Mt. 
Pleasant," 116-17; "On the Battle Field, In 
the Hospital, In the Parlor, At the Fair," 24; 
"Three Weddings and a Shower," 65 
Television: and weddings, 60-61 
Temperance, 101,106-08,106-08 
Thompson, Charles B., 87 
"Three Weddings and a Shower," by Ginalie 
Swaim, 65
Throop, Cordelia: See Cole, Cordelia Throop
Throop, James, 98,100,104,100,104
Throop, Rowena, 104
Tiefenthaler, Ethel, 68
Tipton (Iowa), 150
Tressider, Julia, 146-47
Trumbo, Jean, "Orson Hyde's Frontier Guard­
ian: A Mormon Editor Chronicles the West­
ward Movement through Kanesville, 
Iowa," 74-85
Uneedor Chemical Company, 126 
Unitarianism, 101-04 
University of Iowa (Iowa City), 152-56 
Utesch, Fay, 66, 67 
Van Meter Iowa Women's Club, 56 
Voss Bros. Mfg. Co., 36-37, 36 
Voss, Fred P, John A., Walter K., William H„ 
36
Walsh, James W„ 31 
Walter, Art and Emma, 35 
Ward, J.J., 67
Washington (Iowa), 45-46 
"Water-Powered Mills In Iowa: A Forsaken 
Technology," by Cornelia F. Mutel, 157-71. 
See also 152-56 
Wear, Frank, 118 
Wear, Nora Powers, 118-21,118 
Weddings, 50-65, 51-64, Summer front 
cover, 66-69,
Western migration, 74-85. See also Mormons 
Wheat: See Mills
"When the Work Is Done: From Making a 
Living to Passing Time," bv Steven Ohm, 
88-96
White slave trade: See Prostitution 
Whitney, Horace, 72 
Whitney, Sarah, 103
Why Clothing Company (Davenport), 30 
Wide Awakes, 42-48, 42, 45, 46, 47 
Wilkinson, Ellen, 29 
Williams, Paul, 92, 94 
"Wings Over Iowa: From the Pilot's Seat," 
by William M. Johnson, 2-9 
Winters, Ella, 89
Wittenmyer, Annie Turner, 13-23,13 
Woman's Christian Temperance Union 
(WCTU), 98-115 
Womanless wedding, 54, 54 
Woods, Mehitable, 21 
World War 1,172-90
"'The Worst That I Had Yet Witnessed': Mor­
mon Diarists Cross Iowa in 1846", by 
Loren N. Horton, 70-73 
Wright, Lyman, 87 
Young, Brigham, 70, 71, 72 
Young, Dick and Grace, Summer front 
cover, 56-59 
Young, Zina D., 70
Zaring, Noah, "Competition in Benevolence: 
Civil War Soldiers' Aid in Iowa," 10-23
192 lerwa Heritage Illustrated


English

Index for 1996

Iowa Heritage Illustrated, vol.77 no.4, Winter 1996

Noun, Louise Rosenfield

Emilie Blackmore Stapp and her Go-Hawks Happy Tribe: A World War I Children's Crusade

Mutel, Cornelia F

Floyd Nagler' Passion for Water Power

Roller, Scott

Image Conscious: Selections from the Photograph Collections of the Putnam Museum

Lufkin, Jack

Patten's Neighborhood: The Center Street Community and the African-American Printer Who Preserved It

McKenzie, Bettie

Iowa after the 
Mormon Exodus
by Bcttic McKenzie
W
hat did the Mormon trek
mean to a newly or­
ganized and yet unset­
tled state? Did its impact end 
when the last wagon or handcart 
crossed Iowa's western state line? 
Were the deep wagon ruts across 
southern Iowa all that remained of 
the great exodus?
In 1936 Union County histo­
rian Mertle Brunson considered 
these questions, writing about the 
Mormons' temporary camp at Mt. 
Pisgah: "The spring of cold crystal 
water still called Pisgah Spring, 
the Mormon ford on Grand River, 
the stones on the A.C. White farm, 
the cemetery plot with its monu­
ment, the repaired log cabin and a 
few family names in the commu­
nity are the only marks remaining 
of a once populated little village."
"The exodus of the Mormons 
was complete," Brunson contin­
ued. "And yet, the very pulse of 
settlement of Union County, the 
lives and history of its early people 
were influenced by the Mormon 
settlement at Mount Pisgah. Here 
our first permanent settlers bought 
cabins and land from the Mor­
mons, locating here even before 
the Mormons pulled stakes for fi­
nal exit. Here the first Post Office 
was located . . . [and the] first 
school, church, blacksmith shop."
Iowa clearly benefited from 
the ground-breaking efforts of the 
Mormons as they crossed Iowa. 
From the Mississippi to the Mis­
souri they forged trails and 
marked the best river crossings, 
and they built bridges and mills.
86 Iczua Heritage Illustrated
To earn money en route or to work 
for food and supplies, Mormons 
helped non-Mormons build struc­
tures on farm and town sites. At 
their temporary camps like Mt. 
Pisgah and Garden Grove, and for 
40 miles east of the Missouri River, 
they cleared and cultivated the 
land. Within four days of the ad­
vance company's arrival at Mt. 
Pisgah alone, 1,000 acres had been 
plowed, fenced, and planted.
Between 1847 and 1852, the 
years of the migration, all of the 
southwest Iowa counties were cre­
ated, and most were organized. 
When the Mormons arrived in 
Pottawattamie County, there were 
only three trading posts in the 
area. During their stay, Kanesville 
became a booming town and head­
quarters for thousands of emi­
grants. City government was es­
tablished and the county was orga­
nized with Mormon officers. A 
post office was secured and resi­
dents became voting citizens of 
Iowa. Mormons founded the first 
school in 1849.
As the Mormons left Iowa for 
Utah, they left behind these im­
provements, which non-Mormons 
put to use to speed Iowa's transi­
tion from prairie to farms and 
settlements. However, the Mor­
mon crossing of Iowa left behind 
more than a trail of physical im­
provements. While most of the 
faithful heeded the call to Utah, 
many did not. Scattered across 
southern Iowa were families who 
remained behind, and the careful 
reader will find occasional refer­
ences to them in county histories. 
In Shelby and Harrison Counties, 
for example, Mormon Jonas Cha- 
burn in 1854 built the first saw­
mills, and wives of Mormon elders 
taught the first schools.
Scattered records also docu­
ment groups who chose to follow 
religious leaders other than Brig­
ham Young. In 1852, for example, a 
group of Mormons who did not 
wish to follow Brigham Young 
formed at Plano, Illinois, the first 
conference of what was later to be­
come known as the Reorganized 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter 
Day Saints (RLDS). In 1859, Elders 
E.C. Briggs and W.W. Blair were 
sent across Iowa to organize con­
gregations and to convey the mes­
sage that Joseph Smith III, son of 
their prophet, would soon reach 
manhood and assume leadership.
Briggs and Blair located Saints 
in Lee, Van Buren, Harrison, Shel­
by, Fremont, Mills, and Pottawatt­
amie Counties. In Decatur County, 
they found little of the early settle­
ment at Garden Grove, but at 
nearby Nine Eagles (later Pleas-
M onument to the Mormon dead at Mt. 
Pisgah, in Union County
*Wç ï *
8
anton) they located several Mor­
mons, including Austin Cowles, a 
prominent defector from Brigham 
Young's group. In 1861, another 
RLDS elder, Charles Derry, re­
turned to organize those in west­
ern Iowa, including many "go 
backs," families who had returned 
from Utah to Iowa for various rea­
sons. Not all congregations of the 
eaily RLDS missionaries survive 
today, yet the relationship to the 
early trail is evident. Of the 30 
RLDS branches in Iowa, 21 are lo­
cated across southern Iowa south 
of Highway 34.
Other splinter groups formed 
as well. For example, Charles B. 
Thompson established Jehovah's 
Presbytery of Zion in a community 
named Preparation in Monona 
County. In this experimental com­
munism, Thompson controlled all 
community resources, even per­
sonal property and clothing. After 
several disputes with his follow­
ers, he was expelled and chased 
from the county in 1858. Yet de­
scendants of the Preparation com­
munity still live in Monona
County.
In Fremont County, Alpheus 
Cutler established a settlement 
named Manti. Formerly a captain 
of the pioneer company under 
Brigham Young, Cutler declined 
going to Utah and undertook mis­
sionary work in Kansas with the 
Indians. In 1852 he returned to 
Iowa with many followers and 
founded Manti, a village active on 
the trading routes of southwest 
Iowa. Eventually, many of his fol­
lowers joined the RLDS Church af­
ter its 1860 reorganization, and 
others moved to Minnesota. When 
the railroad reached Shenandoah 
in the 1870s, many of Manti's busi­
nesses and buildings were moved 
there to be closer to the railroad.
Because many of the followers 
of Joseph Smith, Jr. were familiar
with Iowa, as the 
years passed they of­
ten found themselves 
drawn back to settle 
here and form new 
RLDS congregations.
These families in­
cluded "go backs" 
from Utah; followers 
of Lyman Wright in 
Texas; followers of the Strang 
break-away group in Wisconsin; 
Missourians who had remained 
near the Iowa border after the 
Mormons' 1838 flight to Nauvoo; 
and relatives, friends, and immi­
grants.
Today one of the important 
Iowa communities related to Mor- 
monism is Lamoni in Decatur 
County. In 1870 the RLDS Church 
chose Decatur County for a unique 
cooperative farming organization, 
and the county eventually became 
the homesite of church leader Jo­
seph Smith III. Lamoni was the 
early headquarters of the RLDS 
Church and its publishing com­
pany, Herald Publishing House. 
By 1895 the RLDS Church had 
grown strong enough to establish 
an educational institution, Grace- 
land College. Today Lamoni re­
mains close to its roots. It is still the 
home of the beautiful Graceland 
College campus and the site of Lib­
erty Hall, the restored Victorian 
home of Joseph Smith III.
In Keosauqua, a new branch of 
the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat­
ter-day Saints (the Utah church) 
was formed in 1945. Planning to 
expand their cattle operations 
closer to Chicago markets, a small 
group of Saints from Arizona 
chose the rolling farmland of Van 
Buren County partly because of its 
relationship to their own church 
history. Their ancestors had 
struggled mightily through rain, 
mud, and storms to cross Van 
Buren County in 1846. They had
h
- ■I ii
Liberty Hall, home of Joseph Smith III in Lamoni
cut timber for local farmers and 
had buried their dead on the trail. 
In 1980 these ancestors were com­
memorated by a 50-mile trek by 
wagon and handcart from Keo­
sauqua to Nauvoo.
Although 150 years ago the 
goal of the Mormon Church may 
have been to cross southern Iowa 
quickly and escape the pervasive 
anti-Mormon sentiment, the Mor­
mons nevertheless left a trail of 
physical improvements. But their 
impact was greater than the 
bridges and mills and acres of 
cleared land. The pockets of Mor­
mons and those who broke away, 
of those who staved in Iowa or re-j
turned, contribute to the mosaic of 
religious diversity in our state to­
day. ♦>
Bettie McKenzie was the organizer for 
the town Humanities Board project 
“Song in the Wilderness" about the Mor­
mon Trek. She lives in Red Oak, Iowa.
NOTE ON SOURCES 
Major sources include Lynn Robert Webb, 
Contributions of the Settlements of Garden 
Grove, Mount Pisgah and Kanesville, Iowa to 
Mormon Emigration, 1846-1952 (1954); C.J. 
Colby, Centennial Sketches, Maps and Direc­
tory of Union County, Iowa (1876); Vern 
Ronald Jackson, ed., Iowa 1850 Census In­
dex; Richard E. Bennett, Mormons at the Mis­
souri (1987); Heman Hale Smith, The Mor­
mons m Iowa (1929); Pearl Wilcox, Roots of 
the IRLDSl in Southern Iowa (1989); Steven 
Shields, Divergent Paths of the Restoration 
(1990); Ford 1 Gano "Historical Summary 
of the Keosauqua Branch, 1945-1980"; ma­
terial in the RLDS Archives (Independence, 
Mo.); manuscript owned by Pauline Parrott; 
and an unpublished paper by Nancy Jaekel. 
Annotations are in the Iowa Heritage Illus- 
trated production files.
Y
Summer 2996 87


After the Mormon Exodus

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