The historic Mormon Trail of the 1840s, which Latter-day Saints followed across southern Iowa from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City, got new signs in Lee County, according to an article in the Keokuk Daily Gate City. That’s neat and good, but there’s one problem: The trail already had an official route, and this appears at least partially to deviate from it.
The official Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail in this area, according to the National Park Service*, starts at Navuoo and comes down IL 96, across the river on US 136 (because there’s no bridge between Nauvoo and Montrose), north on US 218, and west on IA 2. I have never seen signs, such as this marker on IA 2 east of Bloomfield, at the major intersections involved. The Great River Road and Lincoln Heritage Trail at the IL 96/US 136 intersection may have crowded it out there, but there’s nothing at the Donnellson exit — except, after looking at Google Maps, there is a marker on eastbound 2 past 218, which is off the NPS mapped trail.
The route in the Daily Gate City story starts at Montrose and goes west on 300th Street/J72. From there I can only speculate as to the path of the newly marked route. One possibility might be J72, IA 27, and J62 past Croton to join IA 2 from the southeast at Farmington, but J62 is gravel so I don’t know. Maybe it goes to IA 27 and north to rejoin the NPS mapped trail at IA 2.
We may need a full re-accounting of a follow-able route of the Mormon Pioneer Trail in Iowa, with a compilation of what signs exist and what signs need to exist. Unfortunately, that costs money, and Lee County’s new ones were covered by a foundation.