Atchison – Morman Grove

A historic marker erected by the Kansas State Historical Society that commemorates the site where, during the years between 1855 and 1857, some 20,000 Mormons camped before moving on to their “promised land”.

Mormon Grove was but one of the many outfitting stations utilized by the Mormons. The first large group of Mormons debarked the riverboats in Atchison in April 1855 and moved westward to Mormon Grove. There, they immediately began to fence 160 acres and planted crops. The temporary village also had a small cemetery and a couple of permanent structures, but most residents lived in tents, covered wagons, or make-shift dwellings.