1939 Golden Spike Days Ceremony in Omaha and Council Bluffs

 The Durham History Museum has a display of photographs from their archives of the 70th anniversary of the completion of the railroad and the golden spike in Utah which coincided with the premiere of the Cecil B. Demille movie, Union Pacific, in Omaha.  This resulted in a four-day celebration in Omaha with parades and dancing and festivities.  The town was decorated with an 1867 mode, and there were historic Abraham Lincoln hats and an Abraham Lincoln impersonator.  Lincoln put into motion the transcontinental railroad after having visited Council Bluffs before he was elected president.  Omaha has a long history with the Union Pacific.  200,000 people attended the parades and festivities.  

One of the dignitaries Barbara Stanwyck.  She and Robert Preston
attended the festivities as they starred in the film.

Unveiling of the Golden Spike Monument in Council Bluffs.  The largest
golden spike monument in the world

Mormon Battalion Was Mustered in Kanesville, Iowa, Kanesville Visitor Center

 Thomas Kane was instrumental in lobbying President Polk as a way of supporting the Mormons in their treck west.  The president wanted to assure the loyalty of the Mormons.  After the recruiters had tried recruiting in the eastern Iowa locations where the Mormons had camped, Captain James Allen finally arrived in Kanesville.  Brigham Young encouraged people to enlist, for the financial help it would give the church.  Each recruit would receive a $42 clothing allowance, but unifors were not required.  Much of that money went to support the church in Winter Quarters and on the journey west.  The mustering of the Mormon Battalion also provided a way for the church to show their political support for the United States.  Over five hundred joined the Battalion, five companies, which was the only unit, "Mormon Battalion," with a religious name.

Mormon Battalion uniform and equipment

Brigham Young and a man saying goodbye to his wife

Kanesville Visitors Center: Brigham Young Sustained as Prophet

 In the winter of 1847, three years after the death of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young was impressed that it was time to reorganize the first presidency.  This was after he had been to Utah and back ith the first emigration company.  Kanesville was in essence the headquarters of the church during this time.  Not all the apostles were present, but they did have a majority and a quorum.  On December 5 they determined it was proper to reorganize the first presidency.  They hastily constructed a tabernacle in which to do this.  It held 1000 people.  On December 27 the members met in Kanesville Tabernacle and sustained Brigham Young as Prophet with Heber C. Kimball as first counsellor and Willard Richards as second counsellor.  The Kanesville Tabernacle did not survive.  It was hastily constructed, over a natural spring.  The wood was green and warped over time so it soon was not safe.  A replica was built in 1996 but it too was torn down in 2022 as deemed unsafe.  There is now a memorial, visitor center there.  Kanesville is now Council Bluffs.  The memorial is located off of E. Kanesville Blvd at Benton St.  

Heber C. Kimball, Brigham Young and Willard Richards

Where the tabernacle was located in 1847

An artistic rendering of the original tabernacle

Lincoln Memorial and Lafeyette Park

 The Lincoln Memorial is at the corner of Lafayette and Oakland Avenues in Council Bluffs.  It overlooks the Missouri River and there is a good view of the Omaha skyline.  This monument remembers when Abraham Lincoln came to Council Bluffs in 1859.  Based on his view, he later selected Council Bluffs and Omaha as the route for the transcontinental railroad.  The memorial was erected in July 1911.

Omaha skyline

Lafayette Park

ironwork

Kanesville Memorial vs Kanesville Tabernacle

The replica tabernacle which stood in Kanesville (Council Bluffs) is no more as of 2022.  The original tabernacle was built in late 1847 as a hasty construction so they could hold a conference.  They tried to hold conference December 3, but the room was too small and the crowd too large.   The meeting was postponed umtil a more comfortable arrangement could be found. Brigham Young and the apostles had been talking about reorganizing the first presidency of the church.  For the past three years the church had been run by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles with Brigham Young as president of the quorum.  Those apostles in Kanesville, which included most of them finally felt the inspiration to reorganize the first presidency.  On the fourth day of a general conference held in the tabernacle the reorganization of the presidency was sustained by the crowd.  This was Monday December 27, 1847.  The first Presidency included Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards.  A pattern was thus established for succession in the first presidency which includes the apostles agreeing (receiving revelation), and then the church sustaining by the uplifted hand.

The tabernacle was made of green cottonwood which shrunk and caused the building to be unsafe.  They also found it was built on a spring.  It was torn down a couple years after it was built.

There is now a memorial and a visitor center.  The replica tabernacle built in the 1990s was made of cottonwood as was the original.  This was subject to shrinkage which again made the building unsafe.  It was torn down in 2022 after being closed a couple years.

POther important events that happened in Kanesville were the muster of the Mormon Battalion and the return and rebaptism of Oliver Cowdery after he had been excommunicated a few years prior.

When we visited the visitors center had just reopened.  So our look was a bit premature.  

The new first presidency: Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards