Mormon Battalion Historic Site
The Mormon Battalion Historic Site in the Old Town area of San Diego was built and is maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to tell the story of the members of the LDS Church who served in the US Army’s Mormon Battalion during the Mexican–American War. Serving under the direction of army officers from July 1846 to July 1847, the Battalion marched nearly 2,000 miles across the southwestern United States. Arriving in San Diego in late January, 1847, one company remained garrisoned at Fort Stockton while the rest moved north in mid-March. The soldiers worked in the community firing brick, tanning leather, and digging wells. They built the town’s first school and courthouse. The original visitors’ center was dedicated on November 3, 1972. In June, 2008, the center was closed and rebuilt on the footprint of the original, opening on January 30, 2010.
San Diego, San Diego County
Photographer: John Bare