Editing Mountain Meadows Massacre (section)

==Remembrances==
{{Main|Remembrances of the Mountain Meadows Massacre}}

The first monument for the victims was built two years after the massacre, by Major Carleton and the U.S. Army. This monument was a simple cairn built over the gravesite of 34 victims, and was topped by a large cedar cross.{{sfnp|Carleton|1902|p=15}} The monument was found destroyed and the structure was replaced by the U.S. Army in 1864.<ref>{{Cite news |first=George F. |last=Price| url=https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6cc2c6q/21197521 |via=[[University of Utah]]|newspaper=Union Vedette|location=Salt Lake City|date=June 8, 1864|access-date=May 8, 2021|title=Salt Lake and Fort Mojave W R Expedition, Camp No. 18, Mountain Meadow, Utah, May 25, 1864}}</ref> By some reports, the monument was destroyed in 1861, when Young brought an entourage to Mountain Meadows. Wilford Woodruff, who later became President of the Church, said that upon reading the inscription on the cross, which read, "Vengeance is mine, thus saith the Lord. I shall repay", Young responded, "it should be vengeance is mine and I have taken a little."{{sfnp|Denton|2003|p=210}}<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Scott G.|editor-last=Kenney|title=Wilford Woodruff's Journal|location=Salt Lake City|publisher=[[Signature Books]]|date=1984|volume=5|page=577|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Wilford_Woodruff_s_Journal_1833_1898/82EmAQAAIAAJ?hl=en|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> In 1932, residents of the surrounding area constructed a memorial wall around the remnants of the monument.<ref>{{harvp|Shirts|1994|loc=Paragraph 13|ps=: "The most enduring was a wall which still stands at the siege site. It was erected in 1932 and surrounds the 1859 cairn."}}</ref>

Starting in 1988, the [[Remembrances of the Mountain Meadows Massacre#Mountain Meadows Association|Mountain Meadows Association]], composed of descendants of both the Baker–Fancher party victims and the Mormon participants, designed a new monument in the meadows; this monument was completed in 1990 and is maintained by the [[Utah State Parks|Utah State Division of Parks and Recreation]].<ref>{{harvp|Shirts|1994|loc=Paragraph 13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= 1990 Monument |publisher=Mountain Meadows Association |url= https://www.mtn-meadows-assoc.com/Monuments/1990Monument/1990Monument.htm}}</ref> In 1999, the LDS Church replaced the U.S. Army's cairn and the 1932 memorial wall with a second monument, which it now maintains.<ref>{{cite web |title=1999 Mountain Meadows Monument |publisher=Mountain Meadows Association |url= http://www.mtn-meadows-assoc.com/1999_monument.htm |access-date=March 9, 2009}}</ref> In August 1999, when the LDS Church's construction of the 1999 monument had started, the remains of at least 28 massacre victims were dug up by a backhoe. The forensic evidence showed that the remains of the males had been shot by firearms at close range and that the remains of the women and children showed evidence of blunt force trauma.<ref name = "Fisher"/><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Archaeology (magazine)|Archaeology]] |title=The Mountain Meadows Massacre |url=https://archive.archaeology.org/online/features/massacre/meadows.html |publisher=[[Archaeological Institute of America]] |date=September 16, 2003}}</ref>

[[File:Memorial at the Site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, 1991. 03.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Memorial monument built at the site in 1990]]

In 1955, to memorialize the victims of the massacre, a monument was installed in the town square of [[Harrison, Arkansas]]. On one side of this monument is a map and short summary of the massacre, while the opposite side contains a list of the victims.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Keckhaver|first=Mike| entry = Mountain Meadows Massacre Monument| date= 2008| encyclopedia = [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas]]|publisher=[[Central Arkansas Library System]]| location = Little Rock, Arkansas| entry-url = https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/media/mountain-meadows-massacre-monument-7558/}}</ref> In 2005, a replica of the U.S. Army's original 1859 cairn was built in the community of [[Carrollton, Arkansas]],<ref name=Ravitz>{{cite news |last1=Fletcher Stack |first1=Peggy|author1-link=Peggy Fletcher Stack |last2=Ravitz |first2=Jessica |title=Families of Mountain Meadows Massacre victims want crosses at site |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=6894430&itype=NGPSID&source=rss |newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date=August 1, 2021 |date=September 14, 2007}}</ref> the former county seat of [[Carroll County, Arkansas]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia| last = Polston| first = Mike| entry = Carrollton (Carroll County)| date= 27 November 2024| encyclopedia = [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas]]|publisher=[[Central Arkansas Library System]]| location = Little Rock, Arkansas| entry-url = https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/carrollton-carroll-county-6192/}}</ref> It is maintained by the [[Remembrances of the Mountain Meadows Massacre#Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation|Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation]].<ref name="Ravitz"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Somashekhar |first1=Sandhya |title=Mitt Romney's Mormon faith tangles with a quirk of Arkansas history |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitt-romneys-mormon-faith-tangles-with-a-quirk-of-arkansas-history/2012/05/20/gIQAKHVFeU_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|location=Washington D.C. |access-date=August 1, 2021 |date=May 20, 2012}}</ref>

In 2007, the 150th anniversary of the massacre was remembered by a ceremony held in the meadows. Approximately 400 people, including many descendants of those slain at Mountain Meadows and Elder [[Henry B. Eyring]] of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles attended this ceremony.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.heraldextra.com/news/2007/sep/11/eyring-expresses-regret-for-pioneer-massacre/|title=Eyring expresses regret for pioneer massacre|newspaper=[[Daily Herald (Utah)|Daily Herald]]|location=Provo, Utah}}</ref><ref name=Apologizes/>

In 2011, the site was designated as a [[National Historic Landmark]] after joint efforts by descendants of those killed and the LDS Church.<ref name=stack1>{{cite news|last=Stack|first=Peggy Fletcher|author-link=Peggy Fletcher Stack|title=Mountain Meadows now a national historic landmark|url=http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52107971-78/site-meadows-mountain-church.html.csp|access-date=July 4, 2011|newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]]|date=June 30, 2011}}</ref>

In 2014, archaeologist Everett Bassett discovered two rock piles he believes mark additional graves. The locations of the possible graves are on private land and not at any of the monument sites owned by the LDS Church. The Mountain Meadows Monument Foundation has expressed their desire that the sites be conserved and given national monument status.<ref>{{cite news|first=Nichole | last=Osinski |title=Archaeologist: Mountain Meadows Massacre graves found|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/20/mountain-meadows-massacre-site/72525842/|date=September 20, 2015|newspaper=[[The Spectrum (Utah)|The Spectrum]]|location=St. George, Utah}}</ref> Other descendant groups have been more hesitant in accepting the sites as legitimate grave markers.<ref>{{cite news |last=Osinski |first=Nichole |date=November 14, 2015 |title=Voices of the Mountain Meadows descendants |url=https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2015/11/14/voices-mountain-meadows-descendants/75791834/ |newspaper=[[The Spectrum (Utah)|The Spectrum]]|location=St. George, Utah |access-date=July 16, 2020 }}</ref>