(1) The Fancher Train departed from Benton County, Arkansas in April 1857.
Captain Alexander Fancher owned 200 acres of land in Benton County, Arkansas, which he sold in 1856 and 1857, prior to beginning his journey to California. (The Fancher Train did not depart from Beller's Stand, Caravan Springs, in Carroll County, Arkansas with Captain Jack Baker's Train, as many Mountain Meadows Massacre stories have said.) His cousins Robert Fancher and James Mathew "Matt" Fancher lived in Carroll County at that time and departed from Carroll County with them.(Benton County is west of Carroll County.)
The Fanchers left Benton County in April 1857. Most emigrants planned to spend 2 or 3 weeks training their teams, adjusting them to yokes, and packing their wagons before actually setting out. The Fanchers would have waited for the grass on the western plains to grow tall enough to support grazing, which usually was by late April or early May, and timed their departure from Arkansas accordingly. If they left too early, they might lose their animals because of lack of fodder, but if they left too late in the season, the mistake could be fatal. They then risked being caught by snowstorms in the high mountains of the West. Each year by mid April, the prairie outside Independence, Missouri, for example, was packed with emigrant campers, all waiting for the grass to grow. The long and difficult overland trip usually took 5 to 6 months. The Fancher Train had a large herd of cattle, so the availability of water and grazing lands would always be an important factor in determining their route.
Preparing For The Journey West
A Note On The Fancher Train: Today you will see the wagon train, and the men, women, and children who were murdered at Mountain Meadows, most often referred to collectively as the Baker-Fancher Train. This is not accurate. In addition to the Fancher Train which is the most remembered, there were other wagon trains that joined up along the way, broke off, or joined up again. Those other wagon trains included the Poteet Train, the Crooked Creek Train, the Campbell Train, the Parker Train, and the Baker Train. (Some of these trains were not involved in the Massacre.) The Baker Train, named for Captain John Twitty Baker, was the last to arrive in Utah of those who had chosen to join up and travel south together through Utah. Each Spring, thousands of wagon trains left for California and somehow the story of the Arkansas Emigrants and the Mountain Meadows Massacre has morphed into one large "Baker-Fancher Train" that left from Caravan Springs, Arkansas. Such a Train never existed. The Fancher Train, under the leadership of Captain Alexander Fancher, left from Benton County, Arkansas. The Huff Train also left from Benton County. The Poteet, Jones, and Tackett Trains left from Washington County. It was the Baker Train that left from Caravan Springs, Carroll County. The Cameron and Miller Trains left from Johnson County, while the Mitchell, Dunlap and Prewitt Trains departed from Marion County. They all left at different times and were under the organization of each individual wagon train master. There were probably individuals and elements of other wagon trains that joined these trains along their journey, as was the custom at that time. Because of this, we will never know with certainty the names of all of those who were members of the trains on the fateful day they reached Mountain Meadows, in the Utah Territory.
Map showing the Arkansas counties where some of the other trains involved in the Mountain Meadows Massacre originated.
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~ (2) Cherokee
Trail & (3) South Pass
İFancher
Family Association
