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Nauvoo Historic District

Coordinates: 40°32′53″N 91°22′55″W / 40.548°N 91.382°W / 40.548; -91.382
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Nauvoo Historic District
Joseph Smith Homestead
Nauvoo Historic District is located in Illinois
Nauvoo Historic District
Nauvoo Historic District is located in the United States
Nauvoo Historic District
LocationNauvoo, Illinois
Coordinates40°32′53″N 91°22′55″W / 40.548°N 91.382°W / 40.548; -91.382
Area3,850 acres (1,560 ha)
Built1839 (1839)
NRHP reference No.66000321
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHLDJanuary 20, 1961[2]

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 (40°32′13″N 91°21′03″W / 40.5369°N 91.3507°W / 40.5369; -91.3507 (Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds)), the oldest Mormon cemetery in the area, which is outside the town boundary.[3]

Contributing structures include:

Carving at the LDS Temple Quarry

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

The district was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.[2] It is significant as the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1839 and 1846, and as an important early example of community planning by the Latter Day Saint movement. 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 Latter Day Saint settlement period, including the site of the Nauvoo Temple, which occupied a prominent location in the city; it was burned in 1848 and its remains were leveled by a tornado in 1865. Due to the large influx of Mormons, Nauvoo became Illinois's largest city for a brief period in the 1840s. Despite this, it lacked a distinct commercial center, consisting mainly of residences laid out on broad streets on a rectangular grid.[3]

The majority of the Latter Day Saints left Nauvoo in 1848 though some, such as Emma Hale Smith along with her children and Lucy Mack Smith continued to live in Nauvoo. After assuming the leadership of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ) in 1860 Joseph Smith III living in the Smith Family Homestead, would lead that portion of the Latter Day Saint Movement from Nauvoo until he relocated to Plano, Illinois in 1866. In the mid-1950s members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began to purchase and restore various properties and share a faith based history of the 1840s time period history of Mormonism.[3] In 2024, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased the Joseph Smith Historic Site from Community of Christ. Community of Christ continues to own the Smith Family Cemetery, whose maintenance is funded by the Smith Family Foundation, and Community of Christ is exploring the possibility of gifting the cemetery to the Smith Family Foundation.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Nauvoo Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c Blanche Higgins Schroer and Ray H. Mattison (March 27, 1976) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Nauvoo, Illinois, National Park Service and Accompanying 12 images, from 1975 or undated, including one engraving reproduced from an 1873 book.
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