The earliest precursor to Pioneer Day celebrations in Utah occurred on July 24, 1849,[19] when the Nauvoo Brass Band led a commemoration of the second anniversary of the Latter-day Saints entering the Salt Lake Valley.[20]
The celebration of Pioneer Day in 1857 was interrupted with news of the approach of Johnston's Army, heralding the beginning of the Utah War.[21] Immediately following the occupation of the Utah Territory by federal troops,
Pioneer Day was sparsely celebrated.[22]
Pioneer Day continually expanded into the surrounding areas as the Mormon Corridor spread throughout the Intermountain West.[22]
In 1880, Latter-day Saints commemorated the Golden Jubilee of the church's formal organization in 1830; tens of thousands of people in hundreds of communities participated in enthusiastic celebrations.[22]
In the years that followed, federal enforcement efforts of anti-polygamy laws (including the 1882 Edmunds Act) resulted in greatly subdued celebrations.[22] The 1886 commemoration was particularly notable for its mourning theme, with the Salt Lake Tabernacle decorated in black instead of the usually colorful bunting, and the eulogizing of Latter-day Saints who were in hiding or imprisoned for polygamy offenses.[22]
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