(KCPW News) This Sunday not only marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, but also 154 years since the Mountain Meadows Massacre in southern Utah. Lysa Wegman-French, a historian with the National Park Service, says to commemorate what happened there, the site will be designated as a National Historic Landmark.
“The Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, designated the site a National Historic Landmark in June, and on September 11th, people will be gathering to recognize that designation,” she explains.
Bronze plaques will be given to the two owners of the site, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the U.S. Forest Service to recognize the commemoration.
Wegman-French says the landmark designation will serve as closure for many victims’ descendants, who have been advocating for some sort of symbol there for many years.
“National Historic Landmark designation is the highest level of recognition that the executive branch of the federal government can bestow upon a property that recognizes the importance of the historic event in the history of the United States,” she says.
About 120 emigrants died in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The group was part of a wagon train traveling from Arkansas to California, and was killed by a Mormon militia. Whether Paiute Indians were also involved in the attack is in dispute.
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4 Comments
Most of the Fancher-Baker Party were Methodists. Why can’t the memorial have a Christian cross on it or near by?
Just typical of the LDS to impose their views on everything, a sort of ‘we killed them, we’ll say what sort of memorial they can have attitude.
I literally thank God that I left that weird cult.
It was 154 years ago. The descendants don’t want a symbol, they want a payoff. It is now about the money. I cannot believe that this event still gets written about.
Its not about money, it was about stewardship of the sites and what would be printed on the plaques, but its now more complicated. It cost money to maintain the site and the decendents don’t own it or could afford to maintain it as open to the public. The reality other than minor conflicts the LDS church has done a fine job at picking up the cost of this yearly rememberence. I was there again and I am neither LDS nor a decendent.
Now if I could bridge the gap as the decendents have with the issue of polygamy and child brides, I would be greatful. I have butted heads for 11 years on the “P” word and I was impressed with Church Historian Richard Turley who spoke this year. There decendents of both sides involved here, including decendent of John D Lee. I think readers for get that there are as many or more militia decendents who attend this too.