The Mountain Meadows Massacre was the killing of 120 men, women and children emigrants from the Baker-Fancher party out of Arkansas in 1857.
The area is just north of St. George near Enterprise, along the old Spanish Trail.
When we got to the lot and short trail to the overlook and Memorial Site we noticed it wasn't exactly crowded.
Betty looks nice though huh?
The memorial is up a short trail, at a spot that overlooks the area where the massacre occurred. The monument is a slab of native Arkansan granite brought in especially for this.
We found fresh flowers present. I have no idea who leaves them but they couldn't have been there for more than a day. I suspect they were put there only that morning.
Here's a close up of the inscription behind those flowers.
In the distance down there you can see the spot where the wagon train was first attacked. It's marked by another memorial but the road leading to it was dirt and I decided Betty wasn't quite up to that particular task.
This shows the place where the men were separated from the women and children and were killed by the Mormon guides supposedly there to escort them to safety. I found it odd, to the point of macabre, that there are homes surrounding the area where the massacre occurred. Pass.
Just north of the main memorial site is a secondary site where the men and boys were killed.
The LDS Church now maintains the sites and has added this plaque. The massacre is still a very sore spot for the church. When I was in high school it was still being explained away as an attack by the local Paiute Indians.
The plaque mentions a marker stone incorporated into the memorial. I got chills when I saw it. We once visited the OKC bombing memorial. As soon as we got there you could feel the weight of the place. I think that anywhere great evil was done there remains a remnant, a feel in the air. Mountain Meadows is no exception. The feel is different than OKC. Older, more distant, but there all the same. That anyone could still live here boggles my mind.
The day wasn't all bleak and sad. We had a great drive through the mountains, past Enterprise and into Beryl Junction. It was bright, hot and altogether pleasant. A cool car, a hawt chick and a day with no responsibilities. What more could you ask?
All in all a very good day. Still, there was one thing missing. Angus. Lu and I both are missing him on these jaunts and have begun to question whether we want to do them without him or not. Taking him in Black Betty is out of the question and if we take one of the trucks do we really need the Vette at all? Questions, alla the time it's just these questions. Sheesh. Still, I am once again thinking hard about selling Betty. But not today. Today I will relax and enjoy the remains of the day, satisfied that Lu and I have spent another fine day in each others company.
Yep, a good day.
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