Cass County Cass Township

CASS COUNTY MORMON TRAILS ASS'N
601 West 29th St., Atlantic, IA 50022
Phone: 712-243-1931 or 712-769-2369

A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, we are dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and promotion of the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail. With the cooperation of the National Park Service, Iowa Mormon Trails Ass'n, the Department of Cultural Affairs, and Cass County, we have marked the original trail (in Cass County) that Brigham Young and his followers used in 1846 on their way to Utah.

CCMTA has also put up four wayside exhibits with interpretive markers. They are located at:

          1. Nishnabotna Ferry House
          2. Hitchcock House
          3. Cold Springs Park (south of Lewis)
          4. Adjacent to the Mormon Trail at Lyman, Iowa

These markers are all different and contain a lot of information of interest to historians as well as the general public.

Presently, CCMTA is restoring the Nishnabotna Ferry House at 703 Nebraska St., Lewis Iowa. On the National Register of Historic Places as well as the Network to Freedom, it was a point of convergence for escaping slaves, the Mormon Handcart immigrants of 1846-67, travelers going to Colorado and California for silver and gold, to Oregon for land, and general westward migration. When finished, the site will interpret these many trails that passed by this ferry keepers home.