Mormon pioneers These southern explorations eventually led to Mormon settlements in St. George, Utah, Las Vegas and San Bernardino, California, as well as communities in southern Arizona. By 1885, Mormon communities were being established in northern Mexico. The Mormon pioneers are celebrated annually on July 24 in the State of Utah, known as Pioneer Day. Salt Lake City also has the Mormon Pioneer Memorial Monument, where Brigham Young, Eliza R. Snow, and other Mormon pioneers are buried and where a memorial exists dedicated to all who crossed the plains to the Salt Lake Valley. Additionally, the Pioneer (characterized as "Pioneer Pete") is
Salt Lake County, Utah county includes part of the Great Salt Lake. The county is noted for its ski resorts; Salt Lake City won the bid to host the 2002 Winter Olympics. Salt Lake County is the central county of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. This area was occupied for thousands of years by cultures of indigenous peoples. The area that was to become Salt Lake County was settled by European Americans in 1847 when Mormon pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) fled religious persecution in the East. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley of the