Mountain Meadow Memorial (5) Panels

For years this ground kept a lie. The killers swore each other to silence and blamed the Paiutes they had drawn in — the story Utah told for generations. Soldiers found the bones in 1859 and raised a cairn naming the dead as Arkansans murdered in cold blood; it was torn down, rebuilt, and torn down again. Only one man, John D. Lee, was ever tried; he was shot on this spot in 1877 while the others went free. The memorials here came late. They stand because descendants on both sides refused to let the meadow keep its secret.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Snow Canyon State Park — 19 mi
  Red and white sandstone cliffs with ancient lava flows
• Hurricane Canal Trail — 28 mi
  The hand-dug canal that built Hurricane, now a walking trail blasted into the Virgin River gorge

More markers nearby

• Mountain Meadows Trail & Camp — 0.6 mi
• Hamblin Cemetery — 4.3 mi
• Enterprise Pioneer Park — 8.0 mi
• Wood for Pine Valley Chapel and Salt Lake Tabernacle Organ — 8.7 mi