Pioneer Memorial and Exodus to Greatness

LOCATION: Parley and Water Streets
HOURS: Always Open

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In a quiet park near the Mississippi River stands the Pioneer Memorial, and inside it is the “Exodus to Greatness” monument.

Upon the walls of the Pioneer Memorial are the names of over 2,000 Latter-day Saints who died along the Mormon Trail. The memorial serves as a silent testament of the faithfulness of the many pioneers who died before their journey was through.

This list was compiled after many years of research, scouring through hundreds of official records. Although there are others who died along the trail whose names are lost from records, they are not lost to our Savior Jesus Christ, and their faithfulness remains in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints today. Click here to access photographs of all the name panels in the Memorial

And should we die before our journey's through, happy day! All is well!

Near this spot, many Latter-day Saints began their journey across the Mormon Trail to find a new home in the Rocky Mountains. These refugees crossed the Mississippi River on flatboats, except for a few days when they were able to cross on ice. The “Exodus to Greatness” monument inside the Pioneer Memorial is a bronze relief that pays tribute to the great sacrifices of all those who made the arduous trek to the Salt Lake Valley.

More than 50,000 Mormon pioneers, mostly with ox-drawn wagons or handcarts, crossed the plains to the Rocky Mountains before the completion of the transcontinental railroad May 10, 1869.