West (Main) entrance to the Nauvoo Temple, Nauvoo, Illinois. Photo by Chris Light – Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Nauvoo Historic District


 

Nauvoo Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District containing the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. The historic district is nearly coterminous with the City of Nauvoo as it was incorporated in 1840, but it also includes the Pioneer Saints Cemetery, the oldest Mormon cemetery in the area, which is outside the town boundary.

Contributing structures at the Nauvoo Historic District include Brigham Young Home, Concert Hall (no longer in existence), Heber C. Kimball house, Jonathan Browning houses and workshops, Joseph Smith homestead, Joseph Smith mansion house, cultural hall (Masonic Lodge), Nauvoo House, Nauvoo Illinois Temple, Red Brick store, The Seventies Hall, times and seasons building, Wilford Woodruff house and Yearsley house.

However, there are many non-contributing, modern structures in the district.

1. The district was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. 

Scenes in the town of Nauvoo, Illinois. Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. Photo by Chris Light – Wikimedia Commons

The district was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. It is significant as the headquarters of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church) from 1839 and 1846.

It is also an important early example of community planning by the LDS church. The city’s basic plan is still discernible despite the many modern intrusions, and there are a wealth of historical archaeological sites related to the early LDS settlement period, including the site of the main temple, which occupied a prominent location in the city.

2. It has many places to visit of all Church’s historic sites

Foundation of Property Owned by Alicia’s Ancestors, Nauvoo Historic District, Nauvoo, Illinois. Photo by Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA – Wikimedia Commons

Of all the Church’s historic sites, Nauvoo has the most places to visit. You cannot experience all of Nauvoo in one day. But whether you plan to spend a few hours or a few days, you can fill your time with meaningful and enjoyable things to do: historical tours, spiritual enrichment, hands-on activities, and entertainment.

3. If you are planning to go visit Nauvoo historic site, be assured of ample parking

 

A photograph of the Nauvoo, Illinois Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Photo by Creative Commons – Wikimedia Commons

If you decide to walk everywhere you go in Historic Nauvoo, you might cover as many as 5 to 6 miles (8 to 10 kilometers) in a day. If you choose to drive, you will find plenty of places to park.

 You can also take a tour of the site in a horse-drawn carriage or an ox-drawn wagon.

4. The visitors’ center is a good place to begin your Nauvoo visit

Nauvoo Survey Stone is on the southwest corner of Water St at Main St, adjacent to the Stable, the Homestead, and the Smith Cemetery. Photo by Chris Light – Wikimedia Commons

The visitors’ center is a good place to begin your visit. Exhibits and a film provide a brief overview of the history of Nauvoo. In addition, missionaries can give you a preview of the site and a schedule of events.

 This can help you decide which places you want to visit and which activities you want to participate in. 

The visitors’ center provides public restrooms and drinking fountains. It is fully accessible to visitors in wheelchairs.

5. You can also get to see a monument of Women near the Nauvoo Historic District and the Carthage Jail

Distant view of Nauvoo.jpg
Cave-in-Rock, on the Ohio River. Photo by John Barber, and Henry Howe – Wikimedia Commons

Nearby you can visit the Monument to Women, a series of statues celebrating the many roles women play in strengthening their families and others around them.

For more than 150 years, Latter-day Saints have visited Carthage Jail. It is a sacred, reverent, solemn place—the place where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred.

The restored Carthage Jail is about a 30-minute drive from Historic Nauvoo. Your visit to the jail will begin at the welcome center, where you can watch a short video. Missionaries will guide your tour of the jail

6. Among other places, you can visit while in the Nauvoo Historic District are homes once occupied by Latter-Day Saints

The Nauvoo Illinois Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The photo was taken in August 2005 by Armistej at English Wikipedia – Wikimedia Commons

In Nauvoo, you can visit restorations and reconstructions of historic buildings. Missionaries guide tours of homes once occupied by Latter-day Saints who helped build Nauvoo and the kingdom of God on the earth. For example, you can visit the homes of Brigham Young, Lucy Mack Smith, John Taylor, Sarah Granger Kimball, Wilford Woodruff, and John Browning.

7. The physically challenged people can also access the Nauvoo Historic District as there are ramps and elevators to enable them to move around the District

Depiction of Joseph Smith at the head of the Nauvoo Legion. Notice Nauvoo Temple in the background. Photo is derived from Harper’s Magazine – Wikimedia Commons

The first floors of all the historic buildings are accessible to visitors in wheelchairs. A few of the buildings include upper floors without elevators. 

8. The Nauvoo Historic District is literally to help visitors learn the history of the church members

Nauvoo House, 890 Main St, Nauvoo, Illinois. Photo by Chris Light – Wikimedia Commons

While in the Nauvoo, you can also visit shops where people worked and buildings where Church members gathered for meetings and social events.

In addition to visiting the historic buildings owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you can visit significant places owned by the Community of Christ. Admission is free in the replica of Joseph and Emma Smith’s Red Brick Store, where the Relief Society was organized. 

In some of the Church’s historic buildings, missionaries teach about the work people did to build Nauvoo in the 1840s. For example, you can learn about blacksmiths, tinsmiths, shoemakers, gunsmiths, and printers.

9. There are plenty of facilities to help humans ease their physical needs as well get entertainment

Historic Nauvoo marker near the Nauvoo Temple. Photo by Chris Light – Wikimedia Commons

Drinking fountains and restrooms are conveniently located near some of the historic buildings. The Carthage Jail site includes drinking fountains and public restrooms.

From June to August, musicians, actors, and dancers provide entertainment and inspiration at Nauvoo. From mid-July to the beginning of August, you can attend two pageants, A Tribute to Joseph and Truth Will Prevail. Missionaries in the visitors’ center can give you a schedule of each day’s performances.

10. The Historic District is funded by visitors who pay a small admission fee

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Nauvoo Illinois Temple. Photo by Chris Light – Wikimedia Commons

Admission is free in the replica of Joseph and Emma Smith’s Red Brick Store, where the Relief Society was organized. For a small admission price, you can tour Community of Christ’s other historic buildings: two homes where Joseph and Emma Smith lived and the Nauvoo House, a place where travelers could stay when they visited the Saints in Nauvoo.

 

 

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