On the outskirts of Casa Grande, along what used to be the main highway between Tucson and Phoenix stands a simple, concrete monument surrounded by weeds and objects thrown from passing cars. It shows the ravages resulting from the passage of time.
The monument was erected to honor a campsite of the Mormon Battalion on December 20, 1846. Similar monuments are found along the

True West March/April 2025
In This Issue:
Western Books & Movies
More In This Issue
- Truth Be Known
- What Has Taught Me: Deb Goodrich
- Earp, Cowboy Songs & Prairie Hygiene
- Trails of the Old West
- The Frontier Characters of South Dakota
- The Bowie Knife
- The Kindled Flame 1835
- King of the Scatterguns
- Selling the Mythic West and the Real West
- A Gut Punch Turns into a Miracle Reprieve
- The Beginnings of the Bird Cage
- Frontier Colossus