Missouri holds a painful place in Mormon history. Within a few years of migrating to and settling in the state during the 1830s, Latter Day Saints would be attacked and expelled within a decade.
In 1976, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints presented a bronze marker to the people of Dewitt, Missouri, seven miles southwest of Brunswick, to commemorate the impact of the Battle of Dewitt from October 1-7, 1838. The marker is attached on the western side of the plinth of Dewitt Community Center flagpole.
The marker reads,
“In 1838, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) living in Far West in Caldwell County, Missouri, were encouraged to settle at Dewitt by several landowners. Land was purchased near this location in June. And within a few months several hundred Mormons had created a village of tents and wagons. Land was cleared, crops were planted, and homes were built. However, the persistent misunderstanding that had followed the Mormons soon reached Carroll County. By October, Dewitt was held in a virtual state of siege by non-Mormons from surrounding communities. To avoid further violence, on October 11, 1838, the Latter Day Saints loaded their possessions into seventy wagons and departed.”
