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Aerial View of Haun's Mill Photo courtesy of Alexander L. Baugh

Haun's Mill was named after Jacob Haun, a member of the Church, who built a mill on Shoal Creek between 1835 and 1836.¹ In October 1838, there were an estimated 75 families living there, although there were only perhaps a dozen or so houses along with a blacksmith shop and a mill.²

In the afternoon of October 30, 1838 a mob consisting of more than 200 men descended upon the settlement. Many of the Saints ran into the blacksmith shop where members of the mob placed their rifles in the cracks between the logs and opened fire.

At least fifteen LDS men were killed during the attack or died shortly thereafter because of wounds inflicted by the attack.³ After the massacre, the mob looted the houses and tents and drove off horses and wagons.⁴

Joseph Young, Brigham Young's older brother gave an account of the events at Haun's Mill in response to Joseph Smith's request to gather information about the atrocities that they endured while in Missouri.⁵ After being driven out of the state, the Saints then fled to Quincy, Illinois before settling the city of Nauvoo.

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SOURCES

¹ Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Publishing Co., 1941), 320.

² Ibid.

³ Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., introduction and notes by B. H. Roberts (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-1951), 3: 186.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ See Doctrine & Covenants 123:1-3.