A Brief History

Handcart Pioneer History

The Handcart Expeditions

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The following is a brief history of the Mormon Handcart Expeditions:

In 1850  the church established the Perpetual Emigration Fund (PEF) to help foreign saints gather to Zion. Under the program, emigrants were loaned funds contributed by American saints, which they would repay through work once they settled in Utah.

In 1855 however, droughts, swarms of cricket, and a rough winter caused crops to fail in the Salt Lake valley.  Tithing and Perpetual Emigration Fund donations were reduced to a mere trickle but Brigam Young maintained that a lack of funds should not, and could not limit the passage of saints to Zion.

The continuation of the program, coupled with the prevailing economic situation, created a demand for a cheaper mode of transportation.  That same year, the Church leaders officially introduced the handcart plan and stated the following in their “Thirteenth General Epistle”

“Let all things be done in order, and let all the saints who can, gather up for Zion and come while the way is open before them. Let the poor also come, let them come on foot, with handcarts or wheelbarrows, let them gird up their loins and walk through, and nothing shall hinder or stay them.”

Brigham Young estimated that the saints could cover 15 miles a day initially, and would likely increase their mileage to 20, 25, even 30 miles per day as they grew accustomed to it.  According to this estimate, the trek could be completed in under 70 days.

Soon after, Franklin D. Richards, President of the European Mission, and Editor of the Millennial Star wrote the following in an editorial to the saints:

“… The system of ox-trains is too slow and expensive, and must give way to the telegraph line of handcarts and wheelbarrows. It would be much more economical both in time, labor, and expense. On the arrival of a company of saints on the frontier, they could have the necessary handcarts ready and load them and be 200 or 300 miles on their Journey, with the same time and labor that would otherwise be expended in getting started. It is only to those who have traveled the plains with ox-teams that the advantages of doing without them will appear in all their force. They alone can realize what it is to get up on a sultry morning, spend an hour or two in driving up and yoking unruly cattle, and while waiting to start, hear that some brother has an ox missing, then another hour, or perhaps half a day is wasted and finally, when ready to start, the pleasant time for traveling is past, during which a company of handcarts would have performed the greater part of an ordinary day’s journey.”

Amidst the promise of blessings, President Richards was also careful to warn the saints of the difficulties they’d be undertaking stating:

“It is our constant desire not to mislead the saints concerning the difficulties of the journey to Utah. We wish them calmly to make up their minds that it is not an easy task, and to start with faith, trusting in Israel’s God of success, and seek of him constantly, by prayer and supplication… “

The plan was implemented in 1856. Saints spent 38 to 65 days at sea and then traveled by train to Iowa City where they received their handcarts.

The handcarts used by the different companies varied in size and construction but the general pattern was uniform. The open handcart, shaft, and sidepieces were made of hickory or oak and the axles were generally made of hickory. The side pieces and shafts were about six or seven feet long, with three to four binding crossbars spaced intermittently from the front to the back. At the front there was a three to four foot single tree or front bar yoke. The cart bed was about nine inches deep and four feet wide. The wheels, often constructed without metal, were four feet in diameter. Approximately five people were assigned to each cart and each person was allowed to bring 17 lbs. of luggage (this included clothing, bedding, and utensils).

The first two companies left Iowa City two days apart, but arrived in Salt Lake City simultaneously. Combined they had 100 handcarts, 5 wagons, 24 oxen, 4 mules, and 25 tents. They averaging about 21 miles daily, but managed 32 miles in a single day on two separate occasions. The saints arose to a 5:00 a.m. whistle and began pulling after prayer and breakfast. At night, the handcarts circled. Smoke from fires built outside the cart circle provided a mosquito deterrent.

Five handcart companies crossed the plains in 1856. The first three experienced few deaths and though difficult, were considered successful. The last two, the Willie and Martin Companies, experienced significant delays and departed from Florence in August. They experienced tragic suffering, sickness, and loss of life when their late start, combined with an early winter, caught them unprepared in icy mountain passes.

In 1857, two more companies successfully traversed the plains. Threats from Johnston’s Army temporarily halted the treks in 1858, but 1859 saw yet another handcart train cross the wilderness.

In 1860, the last two companies crossed the plains. Incredibly, the last train did not report a single death.

By 1860, Salt Lake Valley had blossomed and it became economically feasible to send teams from Salt Lake, across the plains and back in a single season. They were called the ‘Down and Back’ Companies. This gave employment to Utah saints and saved the enormous amount previously invested in the purchase of wagons and oxen. This system was used to gather the saints until the coming of the railroad in 1869.

From 1856 to 1860, nearly 3,000 emigrants traveled to Zion by handcart. They employed 653 carts and 50 wagons. The eight trains that left Missouri in June or July came through without undue casualties.

Without a doubt, handcart travel was an exacting ordeal, for both the body and the spirit. Concern for material welfare alone could never have produced the handcart migrations. It took consecrated resolution strengthened by the sustaining conviction of a deeply religious faith.

The Perpetual Emigration Fund  ultimately helped an estimated 30,000 emigrants gather to Zion who would likely not have been able to join by any other means.