Along the Sunflower Trail: Mormon Pioneers in Nebraska Legend

In 1898, Mr. N. Wadsworth wrote in Lincoln, Nebraska's The Courier: Wherever a company of Mormons were halted only for a short time, gardens were made and the carding, spinning and weaving of cloth from the wool clipped from the sheep, was carried on. They were strictly organized under leaders. Over every ten wagons was a captain of ten; over fifty, a captain of fifty, and each hundred had a captain of hundred. In addition to horses, cattle and sheep, they had hogs, chickens, and geese. For chicken feed they carried sunflower seed, which had been prepared in quantities at the different posts to which they were dispersed after the burning of their temple at Nauvoo in 1846. Their camp fire beds made a rich soil for the growth of the sunflower, which sprang up everywhere in their path from seed accidentally or purposely scattered where they camped. In 1860 we readily knew when we were off the Mormon trail by the lack of sunflowers.”1Discussions about sunflowers along the Mormon trail rumbled through the Midwest throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and they continue today. The legend isn't true: Mormon pioneers did not bring sunflowers to the Midwest. However, the story remains important because it presents a positive view of the migrating Saints and their lingering contributions to the American Midwest. This perspective builds on pervasive narratives about benevolent American pioneers like Johnny Appleseed and was adapted and repeated by the likes of Willa Cather, perpetuating it into the twenty-first century.Before investigating the legend itself, it's helpful to understand the area's ecology. Nine species of native sunflowers thrive in Nebraska.2 Several of these varieties flourish in areas where the prairie grasses have been worn down or trampled, and trails epitomize prime conditions for propagation. Curly-top Gumweed, for example, prefers “dry soils and disturbed sites, common to center trails,”3 and the Prairie Cornflower is “commonly found along trails and roadsides of Nebraska.”4Plains Coreopsis grows in patches in low-lying roadside areas, particularly in the western part of the state. In summary, these cheerful wildflowers naturally spring up in areas where traffic displaces the natural prairie. They are the prairie's secret weapon to combat erosion and damage. In short, none of the wild sunflowers in Nebraska appear to have been introduced recently.5The debate about whether Mormon pioneers introduced sunflowers to the area has continued for more than a century. Professor Charles E. Bessey, the “eminent botanist” of the Nebraska State University in Lincoln, wrote a letter to the editor of The Courier newspaper on October 29, 1898, in response to Mr. N. Wadsworth's report of the sunflower legend: That little item, “Whence the Sunflowers Came,” in today's COURIER (page 3) repeats an often exploded theory of the non-botanical as to the origin of the sunflower. There were sunflowers all over the western country ages before the Mormons came. They are native from the Saskatchewan river on the north to Texas and Mexico on the south, and from Minnesota, Iowa and Arkansas on the east to Washington, Nevada, and California on the west. In all this vast region wherever man breaks the sod, as by trail or camp, the sunflower grows up taller and more luxuriantly than on the tough wild sod, and so becomes noticeable. Mother Nature, not the Mormons, planted the sunflower in this great area, and did it much longer ago that [sic] the writer of the item supposes.Whether the plant hailed from “Mother Nature” or “the Mormons,” sunflowers have become an important agricultural crop for Nebraska, with over 53,000 acres sown for both sunflower oil and seeds for human consumption.6The growing acreage is necessary; locals love to snack on sunflower seeds, particularly during road trips. As I interviewed people who have heard (not read) the legend recently, I encountered one woman who speculated that Mormon pioneers carried sunflower seeds because they are compact, nutritious, and do not quickly spoil. Earlier generations wondered if the sunflowers would become a source of income for the state. In 1880, a reporter for the Omaha Daily Bee wrote, “It is said that the Mormons first planted the sunflower here to mark the road leading to Salt Lake City, and that they have become plentiful through the scattering of seeds. If they should prove to be of great value, as some agricultural journals have predicted, Nebraska may find in these plants a source of wealth.”7 In the late nineteenth century, agricultural experts predicted sunflowers could be cultivated for animal feed—cattle and horses eat the leaves, and chickens love the seeds. They could not have foreseen the massive demand for sunflower oil and even tourism.Today, in the fall, Nebraskans time their visits to sunflower fields for peak beauty. According to Sierra Forrest, the sunflowers achieve full bloom just seven to ten days per year. Farms hold events on the weekends that fall during peak bloom, and families take pictures among the millions of golden flowers. Back in the nineteenth century, agricultural experts could not have foreseen photography tourism, but the cultivation of beautiful crops has provided additional income for the state now that everyone carries cameras in their pockets.While sunflowers are not unique to Nebraska, their abundance surprises locals and visitors alike. Resident Stephanie Taylor said, “Our family has traveled a lot, and in Provence, France, there are lots of sunflowers there, and this is the closest to anything I've seen in the states because the fields are so thick with it, and the heads of the sunflowers travel with the sun. That's what they do in the south of France as well.”8 Nebraska's prairie ecosystems have their own windswept beauty, and sunflowers stand out with their sky-contrasting yellow petals and impressive heights.Children like to note that the sunflowers’ heads follow the sun. “That is called heliotropism,” Forrest a a response to they up with the of the sunflower and it that it the sun. just for the of the of the the sunflowers their they longer to the the pioneers The could the for the people and when they on their to and east with In the century, that people had the for east during are own which planted in in the as the in the the to the who is “the of the it is that the would that their east with a of and for that Nebraska's sunflowers are native to the area, but did of pioneers sunflower seeds with an who a in and the traveled with that first in For example, to we the company carried of of and among seeds did not the but of seeds. The was to the for the of the pioneers who would of seeds were to the they their the would have been people plants and to Nebraska during the nineteenth century, the prairie For of the Nebraska a called on The of and a newspaper had up in and and the of for the Nebraska said, was an that plant for plant for from like had a they would the prairie into a of the and from which they they seeds and or for to crops and In wrote a letter to seeds and as a for The pioneers carried seeds with on the trail and more from seed when they is that the Mormon pioneers sunflower seeds along the but their and up the prairie the conditions for sunflowers to Over the the and the of the provided conditions for the which thrive along roadsides and trails in the Mormon pioneers did not sunflower seeds on their they may have the at which the plants a the Mormon pioneers and the is the trail for even if they may have been more about the legend is to of the of of a of both the and the are in the was a that to the of the the to on so did the of wrote, made an hundred knew by the on and that there were wagons hundred of and the continued the for more than a after we the it like one from to the and but not everyone the the Mormon company in to on the north of the and they knew they could the river and be on the encountered and even during their time in and to the river and and a trail on the north of the did not prove it from on the it in with and through by the of the prairie to the river could be in it and is In and wrote, river is the and of who the on in wrote of the was the of the that would be a river if on In the twenty-first century, the their trails had but they at in the of Nebraska and out at The trail by company had been a path to Nebraska, which was by in According to the the Mormons it into a road in and it was by of There was travel on this trail than on the one south of the because there was more trail the Nebraska from the on the east to the of on the people who the sunflower legend are not they are people who along the Nebraskans did not the of Mormon pioneers in because Nebraska had not or the may have and sunflowers growing up in their was not so Mormon pioneers the for after that company in and the trails short of the trail were as but were the days when they great travel sunflower and in their for these trails could be the Nebraska by a Over the the the trail in much of the state was However, in the western part of Nebraska, of the in the Mormon pioneers made up about of the people who traveled Nebraska to and in the during the leading up to the were the Nebraskans who and the sunflower In some areas along the sunflower trail in 1880, the made up the in Nebraska In and their more than of Nebraska's the of when the was and the the of Nebraska was only it is that the legend has been by people who the company of Mormon some did and that in the and The Nebraska the or The only that the trail in the days of and were Mormon would have been to all trail traffic with Mormon traffic in their Saints were among the Nebraskans after the pioneers had in the The a Nebraska in the to some of the of the their and They would have with the pioneers who could not understand and had little on the prairie. said, “Mother had been a to the Mormon but a to on of to not because was but because there was where could the of the had the state for the had of with to and and Nebraskans had with of the of of Saints only the However, people did of Mormon on the from the The were by one man and some were by There were about to one and of the were was the I of were with a of and and were from the of their could not understand what we said to The road was for a the with the and were and would be by a or were on now and a with a in and or hold of with a would to a in the were their through the in the legend did not to who Nebraska and even the trail as a during these as people traveled for of these is that the Mormon pioneers particularly with the by Johnny Appleseed just before to the However, the had a an for the benevolent American in in days the for in and to the country both and as along with carried the seeds of plants in addition to seeds to take of in of and would plant the seeds, up a and on. the time people to little were for or of acres of for which to do as an in and the and to to the made a to people from on the to to and to a their the of the of the of of Saints had on the that the American For and the a the of a time when American about the as a time of and and Mormons a much more for was a but human on much the even after the as and on in all and even have days and the of was a of on a on when at a in The was with the as a had predicted that the great would take on had about the and after in the some of and on about the In some of at this were in the and as these of we in this it with in the if a more and in this through and than have so much the in the to and Mormons an for to of as a of is into a of with as and each is a along a road which on the of in this not be in the where and about their during an According to this the on and the with in the to be prepared for the if during a on to the of and the Mormon pioneers as they and along the American in the nineteenth addition to with during and some to They in to with and and even about the Mormon with native are in with the sunflower of this said, planted along the by it The great is they would and the that along the trail would these of the pioneers the some of their along the trail as There was to the and the plants and for of and made a in of Johnny Appleseed and the Mormon pioneers have to Johnny Appleseed a everywhere as did the Mormon The legend to the of American of the nineteenth century, and it was and in the twentieth when Willa the of the sunflower legend in when Willa was In the I the that the sunflowers were introduced into that country by the that at the time of the when they and out into the to find a where they could in their own the of the first the to scattered sunflower seeds as they The when the of wagons through with all the and they had a sunflower trail to I that do not but that the sunflower was native to that legend has in and to the to of and of the prairie has of Nebraska for in in Willa with to Nebraska, in to the first Nebraska on a prairie the family to so could and more to In to the state in However, time on the prairie provided of Nebraska after from the said, country and I had it out and by the of that first that country had with a I have been to has been the and the of the when Willa up on the the prairie a the of or that for Nebraska and where they For when about of an it was the who to in that and who on the of one of the river south of the or not the were these a of time and in their which did not have even to the wrote in City, just like and on their Nebraska to their on the for a of that had a or from for the sunflower legend in the legend in in the century. In the American a of the to this the of Mormon this trail to find a in the scattered seeds of the sunflower that they and bloom along the as a of and for to The that the legend is However, of the are with of the in these but to the legend like seeds the prairie. than a hundred the is hailed as “the great and continued As the of it should be said as so often in American a of own a to the legend in the of the the story to every time the legend is to understand the sunflower the of the Mormon pioneers is of the of of to the sunflower legend: and of and a for the and the which made for Nebraska's the Mormons had traveled and seen and these made for The Mormon all the from Iowa was by and to California as the In Omaha wrote about the Mormon in the there, in the spring of they these to Iowa and Nebraska for their with the first California seen in this The the of people from to but it was the Mormon pioneers who made the to They California to the the for was said with the and with the the as man of natural and for In the American for leading the Mormons to their The that Nebraska was all and with narratives and legend about a of people of the of in the has and a the time, some Nebraskans a for newspaper reporter wrote, the sunflower has become a in a of are that it a to the of the to the may be to the of of the Mormon the the sunflower as a of the and the of Nebraska newspaper about the legend is In wrote a “the Mormons sunflower seeds along their trail to the and this they the and the of the of an of were the the were not the trail was that the was after after but on they the the they could the of which the they where the the Mormon pioneers with the in the Midwest. the of the Mormon for the of the for the The the Mormons with a of for not had been from The Mormons made with the Omaha that had on both of the Their were in an area now into the north of of the said to I we be may on these or would be to have with of from of the American of the nineteenth to and both Johnny Appleseed and the Mormon pioneers a for positive with native in Nebraska, the Mormon pioneers and the of E. wrote, as if by and was by for the Mormons were a and is not to a of people who could the in a state and from it, only to the a could a trail of yellow sunflowers in their locals the in Nebraska, and Their by the and and which sprang up as if by to Nebraska were or families who had from They did not have they in family a or a from over in a like the where was and could out an The to and their For example, they a temple in made by a of and on the at to so little in the and of so their in the or at and the Mormon pioneers from that people with “It is said could over the and and that the was so thick on that even a through knew the of the prairie all and they who could and with their and with the and the Mormons in Nebraska for their to the much as did as throughout the Omaha on the about the by the of the Mormon they were in this or not people the the that “the Omaha was the of a Mormon and we are of a man who there, in the of through an in the out of the is not in at the of the Mormon sunflower to reporter for the Daily in that do not whether the legend that the Mormons scattered sunflower seed along their when they to is or the have and is a beautiful to of sunflowers their the of The reporter by the state is an for Nebraska, but the sunflower it in and in are like these that the pioneers to be the of prairie just a after the of Willa the Omaha Daily a about the and by one of the had in the area as a in when just people in in Omaha during the and the Mormon was the of on the the camp, which the of so were the time, there were so it was to all the into the of the of that the of for for some of the to and for of to Salt Lake City, where they have to of the was “the up of the I had seen a sunflower in before that with the of the Mormons over the Mormon trail that from through what is now the and on to Salt there were sunflowers on both were in some and flowers. people said the of the soil on the Mormon trail by the of so was for said the Mormons had scattered the at the Mormons made this to their for but the Mormon pioneers more Nebraska and the for from of the of or the Mormons from or only was the an one that the Mormons were “the of all people that I but their were than As said, in American is like and with great a great a great and at a great and a great one of the and one of the of the these who migrating on a with their had great on the their they time and than the to and The to California and the for their their do not to from the of the trail into the of The sunflower legend did not at state and has in as as in wrote in that some the Mormons with sunflower seeds along the and to that from which it The sunflower is the state of legend from we do not for we have along where it City, an abundance of Sunflowers on an and we like to in a that these as a to and and by Johnny Appleseed an people in the of the Mormon pioneers planted for the of the of of Saints a to the Mormon pioneers Nebraska for the they did not just their and the was from the Omaha the of the Mormon pioneers in of the by the of on that the a [sic] and the said the had to and the was on only had the pioneers but they had planted For the first of after the it and on the that in the and the and the and as a was on of the of of the Mormons in the area the in as “the for all their Salt Lake to of to about the the Mormons a great to the of Omaha who the with quantities of at their carried on a in Omaha for and they a with the As in Nebraska from and the their for Salt as much as a of often in that the could find they at and the Mormon for the about the of the which was called would take the of the of According to this continued to do with the Mormons the was and to the with the Mormons to and a and who through a at the area in but of their a in the area the after the the of the Mormon In of of of Mormons were at when I had but in of and a little which planted there has to contributions by a of pioneers had into for who the state of the Mormons as a for their the the In the twenty-first century, it is a in of the of of Saints are the from all over the in to the and at the from the Mormon after their to the temple to for their the Mormon in Omaha as and that is the legend has been in Omaha more than For visitors by the the which to be in for the In the Omaha Mormons during their here had a with of and a on one of the the is the a and and during the locals on the to and at the even the Saints with the of in with to of in to at be to from by or as as is and to the Salt Lake City, with to in the was the that a of the into the from and They a a their and and They the that with each of the Mormon all the to Nebraska from and of with about the Mormon pioneers for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the have into the twenty-first century, as by for this in Nebraska, in was in a of to for where in a of heard the sunflower legend growing up in in the and Omaha native has heard the legend from However, has heard the legend of heard about the sunflower trail at in Stephanie a of Nebraska, heard a that pioneers a trail of seeds and an in the Mormon which has become a from the area, said it was common that would along the of the wagons and out and In of Nebraska over locals have the story that Mormon pioneers a of golden on their to a legend that of the to have out of the of the the for this only the from that be for sunflowers along the and that is and However, and did not they north at the which the is to find when the Mormon sunflower For example, in a newspaper that the Mormon sunflower seeds along from the to Salt so that when on their in they could follow the sunflowers and find the to the the reporter did not that had been before the However, it is to of the people to a trail of golden just before company of pioneers from Nebraska, to Salt Lake City, Johnny in a in the of at had in of In a the Mormon pioneers up the down by the man who a legend during own As had planted and carried plants to and the Mormon pioneers and out for in and in the and the of of Saints to on and the path for who would follow of the in the of on the and to The pioneers did not as an on Nebraskans as did the Mormon However, they did not and along their did they hold the of the first to the The their own and However, they have not been to the sunflower which more for a that and the than a of on a to the to their of these the as as did the Mormon the sunflower trail has to the Mormon pioneers of the and that the because they the American of for the who and where they had and to the narratives that this as to the American as with the to and for the Mormon pioneers the of the of they had their own to on their to but who the of and under the of the each when the sunflowers

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