Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters

Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters

Front entrance to the museum
Location within Nebraska
Established	1997
Location	Florence neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Coordinates	41°20′6.88″N 95°57′54.34″W / 41.3352444°N 95.9650944°W / 41.3352444; -95.9650944
Owner	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Website	Mormon Trail Center

The Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters is a museum and visitors' center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in the Florence neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The museum interprets the story of the Mormon Trail along with the history of a temporary Mormon settlement known as Winter Quarters, which was located in the Florence area between 1846–1848.

The museum is located on a bluff above and to the west of the Winter Quarters settlement site and is directly across the street from the historic Mormon Pioneer Cemetery and the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple.

Prior to the construction of the current center, a small remodeled house had served as a visitors' center for tourists coming to see Florence and the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery. This center was closed on August 1, 1995 in preparation for the construction of the new museum, and trailers served as a temporary center for visitors during the building process.^[1][2]

The new museum, constructed of red brick, has 11,000 square feet of display space and a large lower level. It opened at the end of 1996 with a preview of partially completed exhibits and that year's gingerbread house display.^[3]

The museum was dedicated by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley on April 18, 1997.^[4][5][6] The dedication was part of that year's sesquicentennial celebration of Brigham Young's Vanguard Company leaving Winter Quarters, trekking across the United States, and arriving in Mexico's Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

In 1998 a life-sized statue of a Mormon handcart family was placed on a round, concrete pedestal in front of the museum.^[7] The statue was created by Latter-day Saint sculptor Franz M. Johansen.^[8]

The current museum opened with an exhibit titled "Zion in the Wilderness - from Temple City to Temple City." The exhibit contains three phases, the first, titled "An American Exodus," interprets the Mormon Exodus from Navuoo, Illinois, along with the story of the Mormon Trail (and its many refugee camps) across Iowa. The second phase, titled "At the Bluff," tells the history of Winter Quarters and surrounding settlements, and the final phase "Gathering to Zion" shares the story of the Mormon Trail from Winter Quarters to the Salt Lake Valley.^[9][3]

In 1985, an annual Christmas gingerbread house display was established in the old visitors' center. The annual event continued following the construction of the new museum and became a popular local tradition, with nearly 300 gingerbread houses on display during the 2018 Christmas season (additional gingerbread houses were put on display at the nearby Kanesville Tabernacle).^[10] The gingerbread festival has since been discontinued.^{[citation needed]}

• Kanesville Tabernacle
• Mormon Pioneer Cemetery
• National Historic Trails Interpretive Center

• Mormon Trail Center at Winter Quarters - churchofjesuschrist.org - Historic Sites