Most historians and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are familiar with various accounts of the westward movement from Nauvoo to Salt Lake City in the late nineteenth century. While they recognize that some Mormons returned east and missionaries traveled throughout the world, many focus on community building in the Intermountain West. That is why the history of Genoa, Nebraska, is unique. This article tells the story of missionaries that Brigham Young instructed Erastus Snow to call to cross the Missouri River and settle on Beaver Creek, one hundred miles west of Florence, Nebraska. The group gradually built up a community that continued even when Brigham Young called most Latter-day Saints back to the Great Basin during the so-called Utah War in the late 1850s. Genoa survived for two more years. Despite hardships, the settlers assisted thousands traveling east and west along the Mormon trail. After...
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