Wagon Train Commemorates Canada Pioneers

A wagon train that departed from near Preston, Idaho, on 15 August 1998 to commemorate the journey of Latter-day Saint pioneers to Canada arrived in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, on 28 September. The group of nine covered wagons and numerous walkers and outriders was welcomed in Cardston by residents and schoolchildren lining the streets and with a parade led by the mayor.

Following a 750-mile course over paved and unpaved roads, about 45 people stayed with the wagon train for the entire six-week journey, with dozens of other participants joining for days or weeks at a time. The trekkers averaged 20 miles a day, wore pioneer-style clothes, and rested on Sundays. Modern trucks and trailers were used to transport water, food, portable toilets, and animal feed.

Latter-day Saint pioneers were led by Charles Ora Card in 1887 to form a settlement on Lee’s Creek in southern Alberta, which later became Cardston. During subsequent years several thousand Church members moved north to the Cardston area and nearby. The Alberta Stake was organized in 1895 as the first stake outside the United States, and the Alberta Temple was dedicated in 1923 as the first temple outside the United States.