Martin's Cove
Encyclopedia
Martin's Cove is a historic site in Wyoming
. The 933 acre (3.8 km²) cove is located 55 miles (89 km) southwest of Casper, Wyoming
, in Natrona County. It is located on the Mormon Trail
and is also part of the North Platte
-Sweetwater
segment of the Oregon Trail
. The Cove was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
on March 8, 1977.
emigrants in the Martin Handcart Company were halted for five days in the Cove by snow and cold while on their way to Salt Lake City. The Martin Handcart company had begun its journey on July 28, 1856 which was dangerously late in the season and would ultimately lead to the disaster. Although the number who died in the Cove is unknown, more than 145 members of the Martin Company died before reaching Salt Lake City. A few days prior to their arrival at Martin's Cove, the company was met by a small rescue party with food, supplies, and wagons that LDS Church President Brigham Young
had sent from Salt Lake City, Utah. On November 4 the company and rescuers forded the bitterly cold Sweetwater River
and sought shelter in the cove. That evening a powerful north wind blew the tents to the ground. The tents were set up again, but a blizzard brought heavy snow. The company remained in the camp for five days, unable to proceed due to the snow and cold. A number of the company's cattle died there and were preserved in a frozen state. When the weather warmed, on November 9, the company was able to move on toward Utah. With assistance from the original rescue party and from additional rescue parties that met them along the way, the survivors finally reached Salt Lake City on November 30.
Later many other emigrants would pass by the Cove on their way to Utah
, California
and Oregon
along with Pony Express
Riders. During the 1870s, Tom Sun, a French-Canadian frontiersman, purchased the area around the Cove and established Sun Ranch
.
in the 1990s it tried to purchase the Martin's Cove property; to operate it as a historic site. In 2002, a congressional
bill for the sale of the property passed the House
but then stalled in the Senate
, due to worries about the sale of public land to a religious group. The concerns were mainly the result of the land including areas commonly used as campgrounds by emigrant trains, the Pony Express, and other landmarks such as Devil's Gate
. As a result the Bureau of Land Management
, part of the Interior Department, had to negotiate a long-term lease with the Church. This lease was signed in 2004, and allowed the Church to manage and maintain the property for 25 years.
In 2006 a settlement following a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union
, modified the way the site is administered, and required that the BLM remove religious references from the site and that the Church provide a public entrance to the cove through their property, but independent of the Visitors' Center. The Church's volunteers at the site were also required to simply answer questions rather than approach visitors with anything that could be interpreted as proselytizing.
along with the LDS Visitors' Center.
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. The 933 acre (3.8 km²) cove is located 55 miles (89 km) southwest of Casper, Wyoming
Casper, Wyoming
Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...
, in Natrona County. It is located on the Mormon Trail
Mormon Trail
The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868...
and is also part of the North Platte
North Platte River
The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long counting its many curves, It travels about distance. Its course lies in the U.S...
-Sweetwater
Sweetwater River (Wyoming)
The Sweetwater River is a tributary of the North Platte River, long, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Its waters eventually reach the Atlantic Ocean. The Sweetwater rises in southwestern Fremont County, at the continental divide near South Pass Wyoming, on the southern end of the Wind River Range...
segment of the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
. The Cove was listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on March 8, 1977.
History
In November 1856, about 500 MormonMormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
emigrants in the Martin Handcart Company were halted for five days in the Cove by snow and cold while on their way to Salt Lake City. The Martin Handcart company had begun its journey on July 28, 1856 which was dangerously late in the season and would ultimately lead to the disaster. Although the number who died in the Cove is unknown, more than 145 members of the Martin Company died before reaching Salt Lake City. A few days prior to their arrival at Martin's Cove, the company was met by a small rescue party with food, supplies, and wagons that LDS Church President Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
had sent from Salt Lake City, Utah. On November 4 the company and rescuers forded the bitterly cold Sweetwater River
Sweetwater River (Wyoming)
The Sweetwater River is a tributary of the North Platte River, long, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Its waters eventually reach the Atlantic Ocean. The Sweetwater rises in southwestern Fremont County, at the continental divide near South Pass Wyoming, on the southern end of the Wind River Range...
and sought shelter in the cove. That evening a powerful north wind blew the tents to the ground. The tents were set up again, but a blizzard brought heavy snow. The company remained in the camp for five days, unable to proceed due to the snow and cold. A number of the company's cattle died there and were preserved in a frozen state. When the weather warmed, on November 9, the company was able to move on toward Utah. With assistance from the original rescue party and from additional rescue parties that met them along the way, the survivors finally reached Salt Lake City on November 30.
Later many other emigrants would pass by the Cove on their way to Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
along with Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
Riders. During the 1870s, Tom Sun, a French-Canadian frontiersman, purchased the area around the Cove and established Sun Ranch
Tom Sun Ranch
Tom Sun Ranch, also known as Sun Ranch, is a historic site along the old Oregon Trail and Mormon Trail, about 6 mi west of Independence Rock, Wyoming on Wyoming Highway 220.-History:...
.
Ownership
Following the LDS Church's purchase of nearby Sun RanchTom Sun Ranch
Tom Sun Ranch, also known as Sun Ranch, is a historic site along the old Oregon Trail and Mormon Trail, about 6 mi west of Independence Rock, Wyoming on Wyoming Highway 220.-History:...
in the 1990s it tried to purchase the Martin's Cove property; to operate it as a historic site. In 2002, a congressional
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
bill for the sale of the property passed the House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
but then stalled in the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, due to worries about the sale of public land to a religious group. The concerns were mainly the result of the land including areas commonly used as campgrounds by emigrant trains, the Pony Express, and other landmarks such as Devil's Gate
Devil's Gate (Wyoming)
Devil's Gate is a natural rock formation, a gorge on the Sweetwater River a few miles southwest of Independence Rock. The site, significant in the history of western pioneers, was a major landmark on the Mormon Trail and the Oregon Trail although the actual routes of travel did not pass through...
. As a result the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
, part of the Interior Department, had to negotiate a long-term lease with the Church. This lease was signed in 2004, and allowed the Church to manage and maintain the property for 25 years.
In 2006 a settlement following a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, modified the way the site is administered, and required that the BLM remove religious references from the site and that the Church provide a public entrance to the cove through their property, but independent of the Visitors' Center. The Church's volunteers at the site were also required to simply answer questions rather than approach visitors with anything that could be interpreted as proselytizing.
The site today
About 100,000 people visit the site each year, of which the majority are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Every year thousands of LDS Youth participate in "Handcart Treks" through the area near Martin's Cove. These Treks involve dressing up in period clothing while spending several days pulling handcarts and camping out along the Mormon Trail. The highlight of their Trek is visiting Martin's Cove and nearby Devil's GateDevil's Gate (Wyoming)
Devil's Gate is a natural rock formation, a gorge on the Sweetwater River a few miles southwest of Independence Rock. The site, significant in the history of western pioneers, was a major landmark on the Mormon Trail and the Oregon Trail although the actual routes of travel did not pass through...
along with the LDS Visitors' Center.
See also
- Tom Sun RanchTom Sun RanchTom Sun Ranch, also known as Sun Ranch, is a historic site along the old Oregon Trail and Mormon Trail, about 6 mi west of Independence Rock, Wyoming on Wyoming Highway 220.-History:...
- Independence RockIndependence Rock (Wyoming)Independence Rock is a large granite rock, approximately high, in southwestern Natrona County in the U.S. state of Wyoming, along Wyoming Highway 220. During the middle of the 19th century, the rock was a prominent and well-known landmark on the Oregon, Mormon and California emigrant trails. It...
- Devil's GateDevil's Gate (Wyoming)Devil's Gate is a natural rock formation, a gorge on the Sweetwater River a few miles southwest of Independence Rock. The site, significant in the history of western pioneers, was a major landmark on the Mormon Trail and the Oregon Trail although the actual routes of travel did not pass through...
- Mormon TrailMormon TrailThe Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868...
- Mormon handcart pioneersMormon handcart pioneersThe Mormon handcart pioneers were participants in the migration of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Salt Lake City, Utah, who used handcarts to transport their belongings...
- Mormon pioneers
- Oregon TrailOregon TrailThe Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
- List of Registered Historic Places in Wyoming
External links
- Wyoming State's Website - Martin's Cove
- Martin's Cove Lease Agreement
- Alliance for Historic Wyoming - Martin's Cove
- LDS Visitors' Center Website
- Martin's Cove at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office