<P> In July 1847 the first company reached the Salt Lake Valley, with scouts Erastus Snow and Orson Pratt entering the valley on July 21 . Pratt wrote:...we could not refrain from a shout of joy, which almost involuntarily escaped from our lips the moment this grand and lovely scenery was within our view . The two scouts undertook a twelve - mile (19 km) exploratory circuit into the valley before returning to the larger party . The next day, larger segments of the valley were explored, streams and hot springs investigated and the first camp established in the Salt Lake Valley . On July 23, Pratt offered a prayer dedicating the land to the Lord . Ground was broken, irrigation ditches were dug, and the first fields of potatoes and turnips were planted . </P> <P> On July 24, Young first saw the valley from a "sick" wagon driven by his friend Wilford Woodruff . According to Woodruff, Young expressed his satisfaction in the appearance of the valley and declared "This is the right place, drive on ." Today a monument stands in the spot where he made this declaration . Young later reported that he had seen the valley, including Ensign Peak, in a vision and recognized the spot . </P> <P> On July 28, Young established a location for the future Salt Lake Temple and presented a city plan to the larger group for their approval . In August 1847, Young and other selected members of the vanguard company returned to Winter Quarters . By December 1847, more than two thousand Mormons had completed the journey to the Salt Lake Valley . Several hundred, including Young, returned east to gather and organize the companies scheduled for following years . Demographic estimates place 1,611 pioneers in the valley of the Great Salt Lake during the winter of 1847 . The adult labor force, however, was quite small as a high percentage of the group, 53.2 percent were under the age of nineteen . Twenty five percent of the total were children under the age of eight . </P> <P> Each year during the Mormon migration, people continued to be organized into "companies", each company bearing the name of its leader . The company was further divided into groups of 10 and 50 with authority and responsibility delegated downward . </P>

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