Lest we Forget

Between 1847 and 1869, some eighty-six thousand people — most of them Latter-day Saint converts — pulled up stakes and crossed a thousand miles of plains and mountains to start over in the Rockies. About six thousand of them died on the way and were buried where they fell. This monument remembers them through their last survivors, chief among them Hilda Anderson Erickson, who died on New Year's Day 1968 at the age of 108 — the last known living Utah pioneer, and with her the closing of an era.

What the plaque says

From 1847 to 1869 approximately 86,000 persons, mainly converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, left their established homes to build anew in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. About 6,000 were buried along the way. Hilda Anderson Erickson, last known surviving Utah pioneer, died Jan. 1, 1968, age 108, thus ending an illustrious era. Other late survivors were: Tora Nielsen J. Starkie, 1961; Minnie Peterson Brown, Selina Beddous Kelsey, Harriet Paris Smith Clawson, 1962; Heber Charles Cox, 1963. They were representative of the thousands of western pioneers who left to posterity a rich heritage of faith, fortitude, leadership and vision.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Salt Lake City — 0.4 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Temple Square — 0.4 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Ensign Peak — 1.0 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley
• Liberty Park — 2.3 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• The Constitution Revered — steps away
• Ensign Peak - Capitol — steps away
• Utah and the Civil War (4) Markers — steps away
• Civil War Monument — steps away