| Summarized by Kent Larsen Ground Broken for Monument at Site of Mountain Meadow Massacre
Salt Lake Tribune 22May99 C7
Ground Broken for Monument at Site of Mountain Meadow Massacre ENTERPRISE, UTAH -- Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on Monday, May 17th
for a new memorial at Mountain Meadows to commemorate the 120 victims
killed in the 1857 massacre that has since haunted the LDS Church. The
ceremony was sponsored by the Enterprise 4th Ward of the LDS Church and the
Mountain Meadows Association, a group including descendants of the 17
survivors of the massacre. About 150 people attended the groundbreaking. A 1990 historial marker ws
removed, as well as rocks from an old wall around the gravesites of 36 of
the victims. The rocks will be saved for use in the news monument. The LDS Church, which owns the 2 1/2 acre site on which the monument will
be built, has contributed to the construction of the new monument.
Historians have argued for years over the degree of offical LDS Church
involvement in the massacre, which was carried out by local Mormon
settlers, along with Piute Indians. Mormon settler John D. Lee was
eventually blamed for the attack, andwas excommunicated and later executed
on the spot 20 years after the 1857 attack. Some historians claim that Lee
was acting on orders from higher LDS authorities.
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