Last updated: April 9, 2025
Place
Pioneer Trail Museum
Photo/Macedonia Historical Preservation Society
Quick Facts
Location:
316 Main Street, Macedonia, Iowa 51549
Significance:
As pioneers headed west on the Mormon Trail, some settled near the crossing of the West Nishnabotna River. They established Old Macedonia in 1846 to serve the needs of pioneers traveling west. The Pioneer Trail Museum features a replica handcart, oxen yoke, pictures, and other items related to the pioneers and Mormon Trail.
Designation:
Certified Site
MANAGED BY:
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
The Pottawattamie Indians had barely left the Territory of Iowa when the Mormon wave moved from Nauvoo, Illinois across the largely unsettled areas known as the Black Hawk Purchase or the Territory of Iowa.
They blazed the “Mormon Trail” west, converging at what would become Old Town Macedonia where the limestone rock bottom made crossing the West Nishnabotna River safer. The West Nishnabotna was the largest and deepest river they had to cross since the Des Moines River. That crossing later became the site of Old Macedonia. The Mormons continued west to the Grand Encampment on the east side of the Missouri River in Iowa and Winter Quarters in Nebraska.
Some pioneer Mormons settled in Old Macedonia. They gathered to hold their religious services in Stutsman’s Mill since they had no church. Elder Calvin Beebe delivered the first sermon. His topic was from the New Testament, Book of Acts 16:9, “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us.”
The settlers being mostly Mormon had given biblical names to many of their communities. The settlement had been known only as Stutsman’s Mill. Someone remembered that first sermon, recalled the name Macedonia, and that was chosen when the petition to establish a post office was submitted on March 11, 1850.
Site Information
Location (316 Main Street, Macedonia, IA 51549)
The Pioneer Trail Museum contains various items and artifacts from Mormon pioneers and Macedonia's past, such as a replica handcart, authentic oxen yoke, historical photographs, clothing items, fossils, and other local memorabilia. The oldest item in the museum is a loom that traveled across the ocean in a sailing ship and then across the plains in a covered wagon! The museum also has access to additional historical information at the request of visitors. Whether you have a direct tie to Macedonia or not, the museum gives you a glimpse of what life was like in a small western Iowa pioneer town during the height of the Mormon Trail and later throughout the decades.