mormon trail center at historic winter quarters

If you want something to do on a cold December day, this is a great place to visit, especially to see the gingerbread house display. There must have been a couple hundred gingerbread houses, made by various community groups, and they are on full display. The exhibit is free, and it is worth the time.

The history of the morman trail and settelers that crossed into the midwest,there life stories,hardships unvailed,truly a must go to see and hear the story-of the history that all started here!

I took my daughter to see the gingerbread display on Christmas Eve afternoon. The displays were gorgeous, and the staff/volunteers were so kind and gracious and welcoming. It was a great way to spend an hour, getting into the Christmas spirit. We'll definitely go again next year.

We went to see the gingerbread house exhibit. It was amazing the variety of houses made and the Christmas trees were beautiful. My favorite one was decorated with tea cups and milk jugs. It's free and well worth a visit.

The Missionaries here were very informative about the displays and sharing their testimonies of the Gospel with us. This was the purpose of the trip to Nauvoo to visit as many of the Church History Sites as we could. It was well worth the stop here.

A Morman co-worker was in town working with me and wanted to see the museum. He gave me tremendous insight of the Morman faith. And I was very happy to allow him the time to vist the Winter Quarters, I could see it meant a lot to him.We have worked together in his home-town Salt Lake and I have a greater respect for him!!

The visitors' center gives us a great picture of what it was like to be a pioneer in the 1840s. I didn't realize that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints helped to settle Omaha and so many cities in Iowa across the river. This a must-see for anyone who wants to understand each step of the church's migration west.

A visit to this center was so very informative. Interesting short video and wonderful exhibits taught us a bit of history about which we had been completely unaware. Well worth the visit.

All of the borchures and literature that we saw ahead of our visit here gave us the understanding that this was a historical site offering an overview of the challenges faced by the Mormon pioneers. We found, instead, that it tends to be a religious, rather than historic attraction. We were greeted by an enthusiastic young lady of the Mormon faith who served as our tour guide and whose "mission" it was to inform us of the merits of their religion while taking us through the exhibits. Unfortunately, we were unable to appreciate or study the exhibits and learn about the pioneer's experience as the emphasis of the tour was from the religious rather than the historic viewpoint. If you go, be prepared for a religious tour not an historic one.

I am not LDS, but was interested in the story of the winter camp in that area. The center was set up in such a way that you would have to submit to one on one interaction with a mormon missionary - I was expecting more of a museum experience so didn't stay.

Florence, Nebraska and the Missouri River Valley were a major stop on the Mormon and western trails. This center does a very good job of telling the Mormon Trail history of the migration to Salt Lake. There is an informative film, an art gallery and many original pioneer artifacts that cannot be found elsewhere. The staff was friendly and helpful. While there, take a stroll across the street at the winter quarters cemetery and the LDS temple. Also, if you drive across Mormon Bridge (an old ferry site across the Missouri River), you can visit the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs. Kanesville played perhaps an even greater role in the westward migration.

We stopped by on a quick visit as we drove cross country. Missionaries from the Mormon church staff the museum and one of them essentially take you on a tour of the museum, pointing things out and giving you more information. First you are encouraged to watch a 15 minute movie, which was very moving and gave you some context for the museum. Our guide was particularly patient with our 9 and 11 year old sons who never stop being crazy and our twin one year olds who are also crazy. My big boys especially liked being able to "load" their own miniature wagons and they liked exploring the cabin inside the museum that is similar to ones that the pioneers lived in while at Winter Quarters. There wasn't anywhere to let my toddlers out of the stroller where they wouldn't destroy anything, which I'd expected so it was fine, just be aware.It's a well done, clean and free museum that really gives you a sense of the sacrifices these people went through to feel safe and be able to live their religion.There are picnic tables in a shaded area outside.

This is a great place to visit to understand the westward migration of the Mormons, after they left Nauvoo. You can view the many historical displays on your own but there are many young LDS missionaries who are there to walk you through the center, explaining everything and capable of answering your every question. In addition to the young missionaries, there are senior couples who you might have as your guide. It's well worth a couple of hours. And then, certainly, you can walk across the street to view the Winter Quarters Temple and an adjacent cemetery that was used to bury approx 400 saints. If you had an ancestor who died in Winter Quarters, they have the information available to tell you if there's a record of your ancestor. You can also visit the Kanesville Tabernacle across the river in Council Bluffs but it seemed to be limited to telling mostly the story of the Mormon Battalion. You can do both in an afternoon but I'd recommend you focus on your visit to Winter Quarters.

Everyone was very helpful and they even took my information so that a private individual who volunteers their time, could continue to look for my ancestors.

We stopped by here for a quick visit during our drive from Wisconsin to Utah. We let the missionaries know how much time we had, and they were respectful of our time restraints. The museum has great, informative exhibits, and they were several hands-on areas for our children to enjoy. It was great to learn about the history of the place and the sister missionary that gave as a tour was delightful. We also explored the pioneer cemetery across the street and the temple on the adjacent grounds is small but beautiful.