Autumn visit to Nauvoo

We had a good visit to Nauvoo this fall.  We made a point to visit several of the buildings that we didn't see on our January visit.  We visited the Lands and Records office and learned where some of our ancestors had lived here in Nauvoo.  We stopped by the Nauvoo Temple.  It was a beautiful trip and a great time to visit.  

One morning we drove up the road, I think it was Parley Street, from where we were camping in Nauvoo State Park to visit the Old Nauvoo Burial Ground.  

Across from Brigham Young's house there were several chestnut trees, and the missionaries gave us permission to pick some up and bring them home.  You could tell they were real chestnuts because the husk was prickly.  Poisonous false chestnuts do not have the prickly husk.

Another thing we really liked was the persimmon trees behind the Pendleton Schoolhouse.  The ripe and wrinkled persimmons were delicious!  I accidentally picked one that wasn't quite ripe, and it was anything but good.  We had a great time on our visit.  On Monday morning we picked up camp, toured two more houses, then headed home.

Nearest City: Nauvoo, IL
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: varies
Difficulty: easy
 Kid Friendly: yes
Additional Info:

Finding Geodes at Wildcat Springs Park, Hamiliton, IL

We took a short trip to Western Illinois over Columbus Day.  One of the things we really wanted to do was find some Keokuk geodes.  The area surrounding the tri-state area where Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa come together is famous for geodes, generally called Keokuk geodes.   I little research showed that there are several places to search for them, including some geode quarries.  

We decided to go easy and look at the Wildcat Springs Park in Hamilton, Illinois.  All we did was go to the park, then head for the stream bottoms or erosion gullies and start looking.  In not much time at all we had several geodes in hand, and in less then a half hour of easy looking we ended up with two gallons of geodes.   I told the kids to look for "fossil potatoes", since the geodes are roundish like potatoes and hard like rocks or fossils.

We took them out of the streambed and sat down at a covered pavilion and split several of them.  Some of them were duds, but some were full of beautiful crystals.  We took a while and split about half of our bucket, then brought the rest of them home with us to split later.

If you're looking for a great free spot near Keokuk to find geodes, Wildcat Springs Park in Hamilton is definitely a spot you can find success.

Nearest City: Hamilton, IL
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: varies
Difficulty: easy
Kid Friendly: yes
Additional Info:

A quiet moment at Carthage Jail

We went to Carthage on a late Sunday afternoon.  It's about 30 miles from Nauvoo, and we thought it would be a good last stop for the day.  We had the visitor center to ourselves, and soon had a personal tour of the historic jail. 

Carthage Jail is a hallowed site for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It's the site where the first modern day prophet was murdered.  Joseph Smith Jr. was brought to Carthage on false charges in June 1844, and when the charges were released, others charges were quickly accused, forcing him to prolong his stay.  As he awaited his day in court, mobs assembled and prowled around the jail where he and several others were held.  The jailer saw that Joseph Smith was in danger in the lower rooms, so brought him and those with him upstairs.  On June 27, 1844 the mob stormed the jail and murdered Joseph Smith Jr and his brother Hyrum.  Two others with them, John Taylor and Willard Richards, were wounded but survived. 

This was another trial in the lives of the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and led to some dissention within the church as the members disagreed about who their next prophet would be.  Some believed it should be passed down to Joseph Smith's sons, and while they were too young, have an interim leader.  This minority group became the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which merged with the Community of Christ church within the last twenty years.  The majority of the saints recognized Brigham Young as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as the next man called to be prophet.  Brigham Young put into action a plan to move the saints west and away from the persecution.  He led them to what is now Utah where the saints played a large roll in the settlement of the west. 

The jail at Carthage was a place of quiet contemplation for me and my family.  There's an audio narrative that the tour guides usually play for visitors, but we thought it best for our family to tell our children the story simply and directly.  We sang a hymn and spoke with them about what had happened here at Carthage Jail.  After a few quiet moments, we concluded our tour and went outside.  Outside we read the many plaques along the path to the visitor center.  It was a good visit. 

Nearest City: Carthage, Illinois
Location: 310 Buchanan St, Carthage, IL
Time Needed: 1 hour
Difficulty: easy
Kid Friendly:
Additional Info: Carthage Jail website

Winter Vist to Nauvoo Illinois

Nauvoo Temple

In mid-January we had a long weekend for Presidents Day.  We deliberated and discussed about what we wanted to do for it. We ended with 2 options- southwestern Missouri, or Nauvoo, Illinois.  Heading south was appealing since it might be a little bit warmer, but Nauvoo also had a lot going for it since there's lots of things to see and it's pretty kid friendly.  We checked the weather report and saw that the temperature difference was only 2-3 degrees for the weekend and decided to head east to Nauvoo.  

 

Petting the horses after a wagon ride

We had a great time.  If you plan it right and have a warm weekend, visiting Nauvoo in the winter has a lot of benefits.  There's lots to do, you can be inside or outside, and there's not the crowds that are here in the summer.  It makes a perfect recipe for a getaway to what's been called the "Williamsburg of the Midwest". 

Rope making demonstration

Nauvoo was settled by the Mormons in 1839, saw rapid expansion as converts to the church gathered to the area, then just as rapidly was abandoned as Brigham Young led the saints west to the Salt Lake Valley.  In its heyday, Nauvoo was over 12,000 people and rivaled Chicago as the largest city in Illinois.  Today its population is  less than 2000 people.  The city largely remained abandoned until Nauvoo Restoration Inc., a combined effort between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now Community of Christ church), began the restoration efforts to restore the historic city and open the area for visitors.  Now over 40 historic homes and businesses have been restored and are open for tours daily. 



 

An old cemetery near the Mississippi River

We had 2 1/2 days at Nauvoo and even though the town was quiet and there wasn't any waiting we didn't even come close to seeing it all. 

A blacksmith working at the Webb Blacksmith Shop

The kids had a blast on a wagon ride (and petting the horses afterward), watching the blacksmith presentation (they fought over the small horseshoe we got), seeing the brick makers make bricks (another disagreement about who got to keep the brick), walking around the Nauvoo Temple, visiting the Scoville Bakery (cookies for all!), and many other things. 

The frozen Mississippi River

The historic part of town is down near the river, with the newer part of town located up on the hill.  It seems like the town rolls up in the winter. We'd have liked to get some fudge, browse through a bookstore, etc but everything was closed. 

One of the tours that I really liked was the home & business of John Moses Browning, the gunsmith of Browning Firearms fame, and father to a line of famous gunsmiths.  I learned about how John Moses Browning was born in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, learned the art of gunsmithing, then converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and moved to Nauvoo.  After a few years in Nauvoo, he headed west with the saints and settled in Ogden Utah.  (There's a Browning gun museum in Ogden that's worthy of visiting.)

Holiness to the Lord inscribed on the stock of a Browning Rifle

There were several historic firearms, including an original rifle, and a "harmonica repeating rifle", one of the first repeating rifles ever produced.  He'd inscribe "Holiness to the Lord" on every rifle he built- a reminder that freedom and religion take determination to defend. 

Browning Gunsmith Shop

The inside of the shop was interesting.  We learned how they'd take a bar of steel, heat it in the forge, then pound it into a cylinder to make the barrel.  The rifling, twists in the barrel that make the bullet travel straight, took 200 pushes & pulls on a scribe tool for each one.  Each gun had seven of the riflings.  There's a whole lot more, but you'll have to visit to learn it!   

The Nauvoo Temple Quarry

Another place high on my list of places to visit was the Nauvoo Temple Quarry.  It's on the north end of town, right along the Mississippi River.  The quarry is flooded because of the dam at Keokuk that raised the river level about 30 feet. 

Joseph Smith's headstone

One last place we stopped was the Smith Family Cemetery.  Joseph Smith Jr., Emma Smith, Hyrum Smith, Joseph Smith Sr., Lucy Mack Smith, and several others were buried there. 

 

Nearest City: Nauvoo, Illinois

Location: N° W°

Time Needed: Several hours to several days

Difficulty: easy

Kid Friendly: yes

Additional Info: Website for Historic Nauvoo.  This website has all of the information you need collected into one easy place to find it.