Today’s Ride to Church isn’t actually a ride to church at all, but is a ride to a sacred, hallowed space in Mormon history: Haun’s Mill. Reed writes:
“I try to make a trip/pilgrimage to Haun’s Mill every year on the anniversary of the massacre. The battle of Crooked River took place on October 25th, 1838 and the massacre at Haun’s Mill — by far the bloodiest event in the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri – occurred five days layer on the 30th. Going at this time of the year, I can not only enjoy the gorgeous fall colors, but also get some sense of what the weather and conditions may have been like for them. The still pristine area at Haun’s Mill is considered by many to be a sacred space. This trip begins in Clay County and then up into Caldwell County — a distance of about 60 miles. These photos were all taken on November 3rd of this year.”
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I live close to these sites and should really make a trip to see them. I find Haun’s Mill to be a disturbing and important piece in the Mormon War–showing that both sides spilled blood when they should have resisted the animal impulse. To kill the vulnerable? Just awful.
I loved the photos. I also enjoy how natural the Community of Christ has kept the site.
Reed,
Thank you very much for sharing your intimate trip with all of us. I wish I could have made the trip with you. I particularly liked the fall colors and rural setting. Thank you.
Thanks for the tour. One of the men killed there is and ancestor on my Mother’s side. Thomas White McBride Your tour is probably the closest I will get to be there.
Thanks for the pictures. A number of my ancestral lines come from the area around Liberty and other parts of Missouri: Peebly, Cameron, and Hickman. I visited the Liberty Jail Visitor center a few decades ago, it still looks the same. Family lore has it that my Cameron ancestor, Elisha Cameron, had something to do with building the jail. He was also a judge. He was my mother’s father’s mother’s father’s mother’s father.