In 1838, 17 Latter-day Saints were killed by vigilantes at Hawn’s Mill, a frontier settlement located in Caldwell County, Missouri. Today, Hawn’s Mill, located several miles northwest of Braymer, Missouri, is a peaceful commemorative landscape with trees and Shoal Creek on one side of a large, open field and farmland on the other.
In the late 1830s, Hawn’s Mill was a bustling center of action and productivity—a small community centered on a mill owned by Jacob Hawn. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lived in the community, and some worked for Hawn, who was not a member of the Church. On October 30, 1838, a mob attacked the Latter-day Saints there, killing 14 men and 3 young boys and wounding 14 others.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns the land where the attack occurred. The only markers on the land are signs placed by Community of Christ, who once owned the land.