Nauvoo On the Mississippi River

Today we traveled north about 45 minutes to Nauvoo, IL. The Latter Day Saints fled Far West, MO and followed Joseph Smith to Nauvoo, IL during the winter of 1838-1839, having been threatened with extermination by the Missouri Governor Boggs. They settled in a small community on a swampy area of the Mississippi that was called Commerce. The land, including the small town was sold to them at a very good price and they changed the name from Commerce to Nauvoo, which means "beautiful" in Hebrew. Over the next few years the city swelled to about 16,000 residents as Saints from England came to join those that had already made the journey. At the time, Nauvoo was twice as large as Chicago. Their location on the Mississippi river lent it to becoming an important commercial center on the upper portion of the river.

This is a photo of one of the original buildings that were in Nauvoo at the time. The city grew and had all sorts of shops, homes and businesses. At one time the city had three brick making plants. What ever could not be made, could be shipped from the Port of New Orleans, upriver to Nauvoo.

On a side note, our Dentist in Arizona has a Niece serving her mission in Navuoo. She asked us to tell her hello if we saw her. Sure enough, we ran into her in the Tin Shop where she was giving a tour of the building and showing people how cream skimmers were made. She was also showing and telling about all the equipment and hand tools needed to make anything from stove chimneys to apple corers. She said she is having fun and really enjoying it. However, she never expected to be showing how tin was made into useful objects!

This was the Joseph Smith residence. It was a cabin when they first arrived and he added the additional rooms. The three wells were dug by hand and could still be used today.  As more Saints arrived from all parts, he welcomed them at the dock or where ever and if they were homeless or needed help he would put them up in this house. At one time he and his wife Emma moved across the road so that there would be more room to house new Saints coming to Nauvoo. After he and his brother were murdered in Carthage their bodies were brought back and buried next to this house in a small family cemetery.

Concurrently, while building up Nauvoo, the Saints also set about building a Temple. Many Saints gave what little extra they had to build the Temple that sits on a hill over looking the river.

A view of the Temple as it looks today. The Nauvoo Temple, originally constructed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois, in the 1840s, was the second temple built by the church. It was a focal point of the city, but after the Saints were forced to leave in 1846, the temple was damaged by arson and a tornado before being demolished. In 2002, a new temple was dedicated on the original site, replicating the exterior of the first temple while incorporating a modern interior. It was the second Temple built by the Saints as the were moved westward. Tomorrow we will visit the last site on our Church history tour and head to Carthage, IL.