Last updated: January 15, 2023
Place
Locust Creek Campsite
Quick Facts
Location:
Tharp Cemetery is open to the public. The actual campsite is not.Tharp Cemetery, Seymour, IA 52590
Significance:
Locust Creek Campsite (on private land) is where William Clayton, one of the Mormon Pioneers traveling with the initial vanguard company in 1846, wrote the lyrics to the Latter-day Saint's anthem, "Come, Come, Ye Saints."
In February 1846, the first party of emigrants faced nearly 300 miles of winter-bare prairie stretching between Nauvoo and the Missouri River gateway to the Oregon Trail. As the ground warmed and thawed, and spring rains set in, the Mormon Pioneers found themselves trying to travel cross land that was somewhere between a liquid and a solid. Axle deep mud combined with narrow wagon wheels eventually brought the company to halt, forcing them to wait for drier conditions. In total, it took a month for the emigrants to go 100 miles, a distance that should have taken only 10 days to travel.
Their hardships brought the people together, forging their faith, group identity, and sense of destiny. The spirit of these Mormon pioneers rings in the lyrics of their now-famous anthem, “Come, Come, Ye Saints.” It was written by William Clayton during one miserable, muddy night at Locust Creek campsite in south-central Iowa. He wrote it upon hearing that his wife had given birth to a healthy baby boy back in Nauvoo (she could not travel with him due to the pregnancy) and that both were doing well.
Site Information
Location (Tharp Cemetery is open to the public. The actual campsite is not.Tharp Cemetery, Seymour, IA 52590)
Safety Considerations