Last updated: February 7, 2024
Place
This is the Place Heritage Park
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
2601 E Sunnyside Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84108
Significance:
Commemorates the arrival of Mormon (Latter Day Saints) pioneers in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.
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Commemorates the arrival of Mormon (Latter Day Saints) pioneers in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Mormon tradition holds that when Brigham Young first gazed on the valley from this vicinity on July 24, 1847, he experienced a heavenly vision that led him to declare, “It is enough. This is the right place.” Inside the 450-acre park is the National Pony Express Monument with a replica Pony Express station, a dramatic Avard Fairbanks sculpture of a relay rider changing horses, and several interpretive wayside exhibits. Statuary Walk east of the Pony Express monument includes other sculptures and the 60-foot high This Is the Place Monument, with bronze figures of Brigham Young and other early church leaders.
Around the monument base are bas relief depictions of significant figures in Utah history. Beyond the nearby visitor center is Heritage Village, a reconstructed village of original pioneer-era buildings where costumed docents and historical interpreters share history and demonstrate early crafts and trades. Young visitors can ride ponies and trains, make crafts, and pet farm animals here.
This Is the Place Heritage Park, near the location where Brigham Young first surveyed the valley in July 1847, represents the Mormon arrival. But as the City of the Saints grew from a rustic frontier village to a bustling territorial capital, many California-bound travelers paused here for a layover to rest, re-supply, or spend the winter — or, as in the case of English adventurer Sir Richard Burton, to satisfy their curiosity about Brigham Young and the Mormons. The Pony Express descended the canyon and went through town, too, carrying mail to a station on Main Street.
Site Information
Location (2601 E Sunnyside Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84108)
More Site Information
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
Pony Express National Historic Trail
California National Historic Trail
Mormon Pioneer Trail: Salt Lake City Itinerary
This site is on the Salt Lake City Itinerary. Each site provides the opportunity to experience and learn about Salt Lake City, a pioneer way-station as well as a destination, and its rich combined history of the Mormon Pioneer, Pony Express, and California national historic trails.