Related content: Driving to Nauvoo?

As thousands of Utahns prepare to load the family van or climb aboard a tour bus headed for the new LDS temple in Nauvoo, Ill., they'll be passing through territory so steeped in Latter-day Saint history that it can't all be seen in one trip.

Still, much of it can't be "seen" at all — at least not yet. But at least three separate groups are working to change that, researching and marking such historic locations as Haun's Mill and lesser-known settlements and burial sites.

While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has invested millions in land and improvements at major historical sites such as Palmyra, N.Y.; Kirtland, Ohio, and Nauvoo, interest in even some fairly obscure sites is so great that archaeological digs and historical monuments are springing up like prairie dogs around the Midwest.

The Mormon Historic Sites Foundation, the Missouri Mormon Frontier Foundation and the John Whitmer Historical Association are all private, nonprofit, volunteer organizations dedicated to literally "unearthing" old artifacts and information that has, to date, remained unheralded. Membership is nonsectarian and includes history buffs from a variety of faiths, including Restorationists, Church of Christ, Latter-day Saints and those affiliated with what was formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Others have no faith affiliation.

Alex Baugh, an assistant professor of church history at Brigham Young University and a member of two of the groups, said their efforts have taken on new vigor since LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced in 1999 that the Nauvoo Temple would be rebuilt.

For example, an exploratory archaeological dig this summer, co-sponsored by MMFF and JWHA, will take place at Haun's Mill June 10-21. The events that happened there in October 1838, on Shoal Creek in eastern Caldwell County, Mo., were a turning point for early church members.

Seventeen of them were killed there, along with a non-Mormon friend, in October 1838 by elements of the Missouri militia in an unprovoked attack. The massacre ultimately led to the infamous "extermination order" expelling the Latter-day Saints from the state. From there, they eventually settled across the Mississippi River — and built the city of Nauvoo.

A mill stone at the site — inscribed with paint noting the massacre — was photographed in 1907 by western photographer George A. Andersen, but over time the exact location of the events has been lost. Association members have made "several attempts to survey the site over the past two years seeking to better understand the community's physical layout and perhaps relocate the Haun's Mill well site," where some of the bodies were placed, according to the groups' Web site.