Westward Expansion Trails the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The Mormon Trail followed part of the Oregon Trail and then branched off at the fur trading post called Fort Bridger, founded by famed mountain man Jim Bridger. Heading south and following river valleys southwestward to the valley of the Great Salt Lake, Brigham Young led the first Mormons into present-day Utah during 1847. The Mormon Trail is 1,300 miles long and extends from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah. The Mormon Trail was used for more than 20 years after the Mormons used it and has been reserved for sightseeing. The initial
Salt Lake City Council Hall both as a general courtroom and the legislative floor. The Assembly Hall was often the site of tension between Mormons, non-Mormons, and federal troops, but possibly the most dramatic event occurred in August 1874; Mayor Daniel H. Wells declared martial law from the balcony of City Hall. This was in response to US Marshal arrests of several Salt Lake City police officers in concert with taking over the polls for election of a Utah representative to congress. After 1894 the city used the Hall as police headquarters until 1915. Following this the building was used in minor capacities by the