New signs to note Mormon Trail location

There is a path traveling from Illinois to Utah that Mormon pioneers followed from 1846-47 that historians want to make sure is preserved for a long time.

In order to do that, the Iowa Mormon Trails Association asked Adair County Secondary Roads to assist them in replacing two signs each at six locations in the southern part of the county to note where the old trail crosses a present-day road.

The county supervisors gave permission during a Tuesday, Aug. 22 meeting for the county employees to do the project at their convenience. If needed, the county will provide a post for the new signs in addition to the labor.

The trail originates in the county in the far southeast corner, northeast of Creston, it zigzags across the southern portion of the county, traveling past Orient, Richland and Avondale before exiting the county, traveling through locations south of Massena and beyond.

“The Iowa Mormon Trails Association (IMTA) thought it was important to note where the trail was all across the state. They were able to use grants [in the 1990s] to pay for signs with wagon wheels on them that said ‘Iowa Mormon Trails.’ It was where the crossings were on dirt and [rock] and blacktop roads,” said Jane Briley, a representative of the IMTA.

Existing and additional signs will be brown National Park Service signs.

“The plan was to have not as many signs in some places because in some places, there were quite a few signs,” Briley told the newspaper. “Most of the signs will be in the places the old signs were.”

Those signs will be placed sometime next year, Briley said.

According to a map provided to the supervisor, one of the six locations is southeast of Orient, three more are between HIghway 25 and Fontanelle Road, and two are located just southwest of Mormon Trail County Park east of Bridgewater.

In 2021, three Utah men followed in the wagon tracks of their ancestors, traveling the 1,300-mile trail by horse and wagon. They had many interactions with people from here while passing through and noted people were very nice to them during their visit.