Historic Nauvoo

What’s up everyone?

Today we are headed to the sleepy little town of Nauvoo Illinois and checking out its history.  Never heard of it? Thats ok.  If you are not a member or associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS / Mormon)  then you probably don’t realize the significants it played in U.S. History.  Nauvoo lies on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River about 270 miles from Chicago.

A little background.

  In 1838 tension and conflict reached it zenith among the Mormons and Missouri settlers.  In response to this and conflicting reports the Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs signed Executive Order 44 also known as the Extermination Order.  The Mormons were labeled as enemies of the state of Missouri and either had to be exterminated or driven out of the state.  With a kill on site order, with no repercussions for the act, Mormons fled across the Mississippi River and found sanctuary in Quincy Illinois.

The Mormons knew that they could not stay in Quincy for to long and searched for a new place to settle.  Funds were raised and they eventually bought the town of Commerce on the banks of the Mississippi.  The town was surrounded by swampland and thick trees.  Not much of a paradise by any sense of the word.  They built canals to redirect the two springs that drained in to the swamp and cleared the trees from the area.  Joseph Smith (founder and leader of LDS Church) rename the town Nauvoo, a Hebrew word meaning beautiful. 

The LDS people were very industrious, using the land to the benefit.  Nauvoo became very prosperous and its population exploded.  At its height, it rivaled Chicago for the largest city in Illinois.  Not a small feet.

As the saying goes, “All good things must end.”.  This was true for the Mormons of Nauvoo.  Old prejudges would soon resurface and cause turmoil for them.  Once again drawn into conflict with their neighbors.  Joseph Smith was cited with inciting a riot, due to an order to dismantling of an anti-Mormon newspaper that was reporting false information.  Joseph decided that he would turn himself in for his alleged crime.  Joseph, his brother Hyrum, and about 15 other made their way to Carthage Illinois to stand trial.  Joseph and Hyrum were immediatly charged with treason against the state of Illinois instead of the being charge with causing a riot.  Joseph, Hyrum and three other were placed in the Carthage Jail.  The night of June 27, 1844 a mob forced their way into the jail and made the way upstair to were they were being held.  Gun shot rang through the doors and from the windows.

Hyrum was killed almost immediately from a gun shot to the face.  The bullet hole still remains in the door today.  Joseph, after take several shot, either fell or jumped from the window to the ground below.  In the end Hyrum and Joseph were dead.  John Taylor was shot several times but survived and Willard Richards was miraculously only had his ear grazed by a stray bullet.

The city of Nauvoo continued to prosper after the death of Joseph Smith.  But tension from surrounding communities continued to rise.  The Government of Illinois, under the pressure of its many people, revoke Nauvoo charter.  Leaving Nauvoo without a legal governing body and disband their militia.  With heavy hearts the LDS people felt that they were no longer welcome in Illinois.  They decided to leave Nauvoo and head out west.  In February of 1846 the LDS people loaded up wagons with essential to survive the trek west.  Leaving everything else behind.

Now a days, Nauvoo has become a quite farming community of about 1,100 people.  The historical area of Nauvoo is now owned by the LDS Church and The Community of Christ Church.  The LDS church owns the majority of the sites and The Community owning the Joseph Smith’s properties.  They worked hard to restore the building back to the way the looked when they were initially built.

Most buildings are free to enter, with a few exceptions.  For a small fee The Community of Christ offers a walking tour of their builds that allows you to enter their sites.  Otherwise you can wonder the outside for free.  All buildings have friendly staff ready to tell you all about the people who lived and worked in Nauvoo.

There are two visitor centers on the site.  The Historic Nauvoo Visitors’ Center (operated by the LDS Church) and the Joseph Smith Historic Site Visitors’ Center (operated by the Community of Christ).  I didn’t get a chance to explore the Joseph Smith Visitor’s center so I’m not sure what is all there.  At the Historic Nauvoo Visitors’ Center you can find displays on the history of the Mormons and the history of Nauvoo.  On the outside of the building lies the

the Women’s Garden.  A garden filled with 13 bronze statues celebrating the roles of women.  In the spring the garden is in bloom with tulips.  Unfortunately for us, its still cold as crap here and nothings in blooming yet.

You can also pick up free tickets for rides and shows at the visitors’ center.  I would suggest at least taking either the carriage  or wagon ride.  We ended up doing both.  Each one tells you a different story about the life and time of the residence of the town.

There are many building to explore as you wonder about the town.  These happen to be my favorites: The Family Living Center, Seventies Hall, Browning Home and Gunsmith Shop and Webb Brothers’ Blacksmith Shop.

At the Family Living Center you can see demonstrations of barrel making, making rope, use of a loom, candle making, bread making and if you luck spin thread.  All important activities people of the time need to survive in Nauvoo.

Being a gun enthusiast the Browning Home was my favorite.  I had know idea that Browning Firearms start in a simple gun smith shop in Nauvoo.  Inside the home are three case full of Browning arms.  Inside of the gun shop cases of tool and weapon used at the time.

The Seventies Hall was originally used for small church services and lectures.  Now it contains excavated artifact from the town after the people left.  There is also a folder of names of residence of the town.  My family is recorded in this folders.  But they share the same name as someone else in town.  Knowing that my family migrated long after the fall of Nauvoo.  We believe that they mixed or combined the two records together.

In the Blacksmith shop they talk to you about the building of the wagons used for the exodus of Nauvoo.  The wagon were 3 feet by 11 feet and could hold up to 2000 pounds.  You will also be treat to a demonstration of horseshoe making.

Of course the biggest draw to the city is the Nauvoo Temple.  The temple started construction in 1841 and completed in 1845.  The temple was used less then three months before the city was abandoned for the exodus west.  The temple was set ablaze by unknown assailants and the ruins eventually toppled by a tornado.  The remaining stones were scattered and used by the locals.

In 1999 an announcement by then LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinkley stated that the temple would be rebuilt.  The exterior of the temple would be built to the same specs as the original with a few modern tweaks.  The interior would be made to the specs of modern LDS temples.  The Nauvoo Temple was rededicated in 2002 to the delight of its members.

We had a lot of fun exploring the town of Nauvoo.  We met a lot of nice people as we went along who want to share in the history. There is still tons of things to do and see that I did not get to tell you about.  They do put on a nightly shows as well as re-enactments and pageants throughout the year.  

With the current state of affairs in our country its hard to not to think that history can repeat itself.  Prejudges and fear can drive people to do crazy things.  Be kind and friendly to those that you don’t understand.  Everyone has their own battles.  Only you can choose to help or hinder their plight.

Learn from the mistake that came before.  Until next time.

Josh