Last updated: April 17, 2024
Place
"Two Sides of the River" Wayside
NPS/Eric Grunwald
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Description of Wayside: Low-profile wayside that is 42 x 24 inches. It has a brown rectangular base with two short rectangular pillars anchored into a stone wall supporting the wayside panel. The panel is framed in brown metal. The wayside is located at the far northern end of the North Overlook Trail overlooking the North Platte River.
Wayside Layout: At the top of the wayside is a thin black banner with white text. Aligned to the left is "Scotts Bluff National Monument". Aligned to the right is the text "National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior," and finally the National Park Service arrowhead. The title of the wayside is below the black banner in large black font. The panel has a light blue background. Black text is arranged in three columns on the upper half of the wayside. Below the text are three images.
Wayside Title: Two Sides of the River
Text: The Platte River served as a buffer between people.
Emigrants followed the Platte River for up to 650 miles (1,046 km) depending on where they first joined it. Many traveled on the south side while others stayed on the north side. What determined their decision? Usually it was a matter of where they started along the Missouri River. If they began their journey south of Council Bluffs, they stayed on the south side of the river. For those who embarked from Council Bluffs, as did most Mormons, the north side was their route. Traveling on the north side of the river also reduced the amount of harassment from non-Mormon “Gentiles.”
Council Bluffs Road, the early name for the trail, served most of the Mormon emigrants as the path to Zion. To escape persecution in the States, Brigham Young, the leader of the church, decided that the valley of the Salt Lake in Utah Territory was far enough from other settlements to be safe. Handcart companies were formed to accommodate European converts with little money to cross the continent. For each group of approximately 20 handcarts, one covered wagon carried extra supplies and tents. The wagons also served as traveling commissaries, transporting food for the emigrants’ meals. Of the 70,000 Mormons who crossed the country to Utah, ten handcart companies brought almost 3,000 emigrants to Utah from 1856 through 1860.
Each side of the river had its challenges. Since the forts were built on the more-heavily traveled south side of the Platte River, people on the north side had to make dangerous river crossings to visit the forts. Larger numbers on the south side meant poorer sanitation, more disease, and more competition for grazing and campfire fuel.
What determines your route when you travel?
Image: A watercolor painting of a large group of emigrants crossing a river. Some of the emigrants push handcarts, while others walk beside covered wagons being pulled by oxen.
Image Caption: This watercolor shows the mix of handcarts and covered wagons that made up a typical handcart company. Credit: “Mormon Party near Fort Bridger” by William Henry Jackson; Scotts Bluff National Monument Collection
Image: Two women push a handcart with a small cover protecting its contents.
Image Caption: A handcart was pushed rather than pulled, since the crossbar was pushed against. Credit: NPS Photo.
Image: The cover of a book titled "Book of Mormon."
Image Caption: Joseph Smith organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints after producing the Book of Mormon. Credit: Frontispiece of the 1830 “Book of Mormon.”
Wayside Layout: At the top of the wayside is a thin black banner with white text. Aligned to the left is "Scotts Bluff National Monument". Aligned to the right is the text "National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior," and finally the National Park Service arrowhead. The title of the wayside is below the black banner in large black font. The panel has a light blue background. Black text is arranged in three columns on the upper half of the wayside. Below the text are three images.
Wayside Title: Two Sides of the River
Text: The Platte River served as a buffer between people.
Emigrants followed the Platte River for up to 650 miles (1,046 km) depending on where they first joined it. Many traveled on the south side while others stayed on the north side. What determined their decision? Usually it was a matter of where they started along the Missouri River. If they began their journey south of Council Bluffs, they stayed on the south side of the river. For those who embarked from Council Bluffs, as did most Mormons, the north side was their route. Traveling on the north side of the river also reduced the amount of harassment from non-Mormon “Gentiles.”
Council Bluffs Road, the early name for the trail, served most of the Mormon emigrants as the path to Zion. To escape persecution in the States, Brigham Young, the leader of the church, decided that the valley of the Salt Lake in Utah Territory was far enough from other settlements to be safe. Handcart companies were formed to accommodate European converts with little money to cross the continent. For each group of approximately 20 handcarts, one covered wagon carried extra supplies and tents. The wagons also served as traveling commissaries, transporting food for the emigrants’ meals. Of the 70,000 Mormons who crossed the country to Utah, ten handcart companies brought almost 3,000 emigrants to Utah from 1856 through 1860.
Each side of the river had its challenges. Since the forts were built on the more-heavily traveled south side of the Platte River, people on the north side had to make dangerous river crossings to visit the forts. Larger numbers on the south side meant poorer sanitation, more disease, and more competition for grazing and campfire fuel.
What determines your route when you travel?
Image: A watercolor painting of a large group of emigrants crossing a river. Some of the emigrants push handcarts, while others walk beside covered wagons being pulled by oxen.
Image Caption: This watercolor shows the mix of handcarts and covered wagons that made up a typical handcart company. Credit: “Mormon Party near Fort Bridger” by William Henry Jackson; Scotts Bluff National Monument Collection
Image: Two women push a handcart with a small cover protecting its contents.
Image Caption: A handcart was pushed rather than pulled, since the crossbar was pushed against. Credit: NPS Photo.
Image: The cover of a book titled "Book of Mormon."
Image Caption: Joseph Smith organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints after producing the Book of Mormon. Credit: Frontispiece of the 1830 “Book of Mormon.”