Forced from their homes along the Mississippi, Mormon refugees began arriving in the Missouri River Valley in June 1846, and by September nearly 4,000 had settled for the winter at Winter Quarters, where they laid out blocks and streets and built cabins, a grist mill, and a 22 by 32 foot town hall called the Council House. The camp had two main streets and 38 blocks, each with 20 lots filled with crude shelters, tents, dugouts, and log cabins. The one-and-a-half-story log Council House, with wooden floors, fireplaces, and windows, served as the social center, where gatherings, religious meetings, and dances helped the Saints temporarily forget the cold and misery of winter. A nearby cemetery holding the graves of several hundred emigrants testified to the harsh winter and crude living conditions endured while they waited for spring and the chance to continue west.