Brigham Young Settles Salt Lake City, Utah (1847)
On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young and his group of fellow Mormons settled their church in Salt Lake City, Utah. In particular, Young led his fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly called the Mormons, settled in the Great Salt Lake Valley after a long and difficult journey.
Joseph Smith founded the Mormons in a small settlement in Illinois. However, over time, the Mormons faced harsh discrimination due to some of their unorthodox practices, including polygamy. As such, the Mormons decided to move out West for religious and political freedom.
After Smith died, Brigham Young became leader of the Mormons and led a group of them on a 17 month and over 1,000 mile exodus out West. Many Mormons died on the journey due to harsh weather conditions, disease, and other calamities.
Finally, on this day, July 24, 1847, Young and around 150 other Mormons came upon the Great Salt Lake Valley and called it the Promised Land. They settled there and within days began building Salt Lake City at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains. By the end of 1847, over 2,000 Mormons had settled in Salt Lake City.
Young died in Salt Lake City in 1877 and John Taylor succeeded him as president of the Mormon Church.
Today, Utah and other Western states celebrate July 24th as a state holiday called Pioneer Day. People partake in parades, speeches, music, picnics, and other festivities to commemorate Brigham Young and the Mormon pioneers who risked their lives for religious and political freedom.