Nauvoo Illinois

Whether you are a Mormon and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or Catholic or Protestant or an atheist or agnostic, a visit to Nauvoo, Illinois, is an interesting and educational experience.

Nauvoo, Illinois is situated on the banks of the Mississippi and for a time in the 1840's was the largest city in Illinois. It was a center for the Mormon religion. Eventually the Mormons were forced to leave Illinois and re-settle in Utah. 

 Seeing how the Mormons lived in Nauvoo and learning about how they chose to migrate to Utah is a fascinating part of American and Mormon history. 

Nauvoo, which was incorporated as a city in 1840, was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1961 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. 

In the 1960s, Mormon preservationists began to restore the the city and develop it as a tourist attraction related to the history of Mormonism. The biggest attraction of all is the new Nauvoo Temple, which was built in 2002. The original temple stood on the same site and its remains were destroyed by a tornado in 1865. 

Today, the 3,850-acre town site also features a variety of restored dwellings and businesses and the Trail of Hope. The latter is a monument on the banks of the Mississippi River where the Mormons began their exodus to Utah and includes entries from diaries telling of the experience. The restored buildings are manned by knowledgeable docents who explain the history of the business and give examples of how things were made in that time period.

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The visitors' center offers an overview of the history of the area, the Mormon faith and a wonderful model showing the inside of their temple.   

This is the rebuilt Mormon Temple

Beautiful grounds and very impressive views 

A  series of displays tell the history of the Mormon religion and what all was happening in and around Nauvoo in the 1840's.

This cut away model of the Temple is quite detailed

This is one example of the restored businesses in the town site of Nauvoo.

Docents tell the history of each building. In this case it is the home and workshop of John Moses Browning, inventor of the machine gun.

This was the workshop of Browning. Examples of how rifles were manufactured were demonstrated.

Dies for forming barrels

Tool for adding rifling to the barrel

Back porch of Browning's home

Back yard/garden area with Temple in the distance

I liked this color combination of door and brick

One of several wells on the property

Pretty simple gate closer

We learned a lot about how tinsmiths worked

Also learned a lot about newspaper printing in those days

A wide variety of homes are found throughout the town

When the Mormons were forced to leave they had to cross the river either by ferry or when the river was frozen. They lined up their wagons/horses along a road to await their turn to cross. Passages from the diaries of those folks have been placed along the road and make most interesting reading.

This is the path along the road where the plaques are found

We only allowed an afternoon to take in this experience. One could easily spend several days there if you wished to see it all.