A Journey of Faith: The Mormon Handcart Pioneers

Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, land-hungry Americans and recent immigrants from Europe set their sights on moving across the western frontier in what has become known as the Great Western Migration.

Some settlers followed the trail blazed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. In 1804, Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery traveled from Camp Dubois in Illinois up the Missouri River and across the northern plains and mountains to the mouth of the Colombia River. This route became known as the Oregon Trail.