--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Brown, John Zimmerman collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 12 number: 9 published: 1909-07 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'John Zimmerman Brown, "Nauvoo Today—III," *Improvement Era* 12, no. 9 (July 1909): 713–719.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1209unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1209unse start_page: 713 end_page: 719 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1909-07) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1209unse publication_year: 1909 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1909, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Nauvoo Today—III NAUVOO TODAY. BY PROFESSOR JOHN ZIMMERMAN BROWN, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. III. Nauvoo stands today just as it did in the^early forties when the ''Mormons" laid it out in squares, the streets running at right angles to each other, ac- cording to the points of the compass. The blue- print copy of the city sur- vey^which I was fortunate J n securing gives'the orig- inal names of the streets, which have remained un- changed, as follows: com. mencing at the river bend on the south and proceed- ing northward to the north bend, we have: Lumber, Water, Sidney, Parley, Kimball, Munson, Hotch- kiss, White, Ripley, Mul- holland, Knight, Young, Cutler, Hibbard, Joseph, Hyrum, Carlos, Samuel, streets. The streets as you go eastward are: Hills, One of the crescent moonstones taken Marion Locust Cherry from the Temple. The only one left in Nl ' , , _ ,. Nauvoo. Brattle, Taylor and Robin- son. From the river bank on the west, Bain, Granger, Main, Car- lin, Partridge, Durphey, Wells, Woodruff, Page, P.arnett, Robin- son, Green and Warsaw. Other additions were plotted, but they were not opened. The temple square is located in the center of the city, lying in what is known as the WelW Addition, with Knight street on the north, Woodruff to the east, Wells street at the west, and Mul- holland on the south. The site occupied the summit of the hill, overlooking the Mississippi river, the land- scape on the Iowa side and all the surrounding country. It was pur- chased by the Church from Daniel H. Wells in 1840. The block is now fairly well covered with dwellings and out build- ings, the largest one, standing on the southwest corner, is built of stones taken from the walls of the temple. All that is now left of the sacred edifice is the old well The Nauvoo Temple. that supplied water for the baptismal font. Not a single stone of the building is in left place. This well, which was in the east end of the basement, is now equipped with a pump and is used for culinary purposes. The plans for this temple were drawn by William Weeks; the corner stones were laid April 6, 1841, under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith; and on November 8, 1841, he dedicated the baptismal font. In spite of their poverty the Saints contin- ued the work of building until the martyrdom three years later, at which time the walls were almost up to the square. The histo- rian says that on the fatal journey to Carthage, the Prophet Joseph paused on Muiholland Street, and looked with admiration upon the NAUVOO TODAY. 715 temple and the city, making the remark, "This is the loveliest place and the best people under the heavens; little do they know the trials that await them." During the excitement that followed, the work on the tem- ple was suspended for a little while. Later it was renewed and pushed with vigor, but at great sacrifice, many of the workmen having nothing to eat but Johnny cake and bacon. The cap stone was laid May 24, 1845, and the first meetings were held during the following October conference, at which there were five thou- sand people in attendance. On the evening of April 30, 1846, the building was privately One of the Indian mounds along the river north of Nauvoo. dedicated by Joseph Young, of the first council of Seventy. Next day, May 1, it was publicly dedicated by Orson Hyde, of the council of Apostles. The temple was built of gray limestone taken from quarries along the banks of the Mississippi river. It was 128 feet long, 88 feet wide, 65 feet from the floor to the roof, and 165 feet to the top of the tower at the west end. had thirty hewn pilasters, costing $3,000 each, six at It each end, and nine on each side. At the base of each was a mas- sive crescent moon. At the summit, fifty feet from the ground, 7i»; IMPROVEMENT ERA. was a sun with a human face, two and a half feet broad, and orna- mented with rays of light; above this were two hands hold ing trumpets. All these were artistic- ally carved, in the stone. The whole cost of the building was one million dol- lars. Of these sixty large, ornamented stones only one re- mains in Nauvoo. It is one of the half- A farm near the Mississippi river, Nauvoo, 111. moons, and stands on the lawn at the hotel. One of the sun stones lies on the campus at the Chaddock school, at Quincy. Illinois, Our friends in- formed us that sev- eral years ago the Illinois State Legisla- ture had one taken to Springfield and placed on the capi- tol grounds; and I am told there is one at the Smithsonian Institution in Wash- ington. So far as I could learn these four are the only ones, of the sixty Looking at the Iowa side of the* river from large stones, left in a farm near Nauvoo. existence. Soon after the dedication of the temple, all the Saints who could do so crossed the river, following their leaders into the wil- derness. In September, 1846, after the battle of Nauvoo, the mob NAUVOO TODAY. 717 took possession of the temple, and by them it was defaced and ruthlessly desecrated. On November 19, 1848, it was burned by an incendiary. Soon after this it passed into the hands of the Icarians who made elaborate preparations to repair it. But their hopes were soon blasted, for on May 27, 1850, a tornado blew in the north wall After this, the other walls were taken down and the stones were used in the construction of dwellings and other build- ings. The property is now owned by a Mr. Reimbold. In the spring of 1849, three years after the "Mormons" were John Taylor's printing office where the Nauvoo Neighbor and Times and Seasons were published, Main Street. House at extreme right was John Tay- lor's residence. driven out, Nauvoo was again incorporated as a city, and so con- tinues today. It is inhabited by an industrious, frugal and peace- able people, made up largely of Germans. Grape raising and wine making are extensively followed. The city and its suburbs are thickly dotted with well planted and neatly kept vineyards. Good varieties of peaches are grown and exported on an extensive scale. Their nearest railway station is Montrose, on the opposite side of the river. During the summer the steamboat traffic on the upper 18 IMPRO YEMENI ERA. Mississippi between St. Louis and St. Paul is quite heavy, giving Nauvoo a good outlet for her products. There is now a movement under way to build an interurban line which will connect Nauvo with Niota, via Appanoose and Se- nora townships. It is said to be financed by Dr. J. A. Bartz. The company is also negotiat- ing to instal an electric light plant for the city. The " 'Mormon' Springs" a few miles north of the city furnish a good supply of pure water, and there is some talk of piping this water into the city for culinary pur- poses. Mulholland is the busi- ness street of the city. It is paved with macadam and has A group of grape pickers, Nauvoo, III. cement sidewalks. Among the business houses are the State Bank of Nauvoo and the Nauvoo First National Bank. There are two saloons from which the city receives an annual revenue of four thousand dollars. The city also supports two weekly newspapers. Nauvoo has a good public school system, embracing common schools and a high school. There are also seminaries built and maintained by the Catholic church. A vineyard, Nauvoo. III. NAUVOO TODAY. 719 Farm lands and around Nauvoo sell for about one hundred in which greatly depreciated in dollars per acre, and city property, value after the "Mormons" left, can now be purchased for a very low figure. But the most substantial and best houses in Nauvoo are those erected a generation ago by the "Mormons." These humble builders stamped their work with their own character and personality, giving the place a delightfully homelike atmosphere. An effort is now being made to erect a monument to the. memory of Joseph and Hyrum Smith at Nauvoo. The following; news item is clipped from the Nauvoo Rustler, under date of Aug.. 25, 1908: Last relic of the Nauvoo Temple —the Old Well. People from left to right: Howard R. Driggs, Salt Lake City; B. W. Driggs, Pleasant Grove; F. W. Cox. Manti; and John Z. Brown, Salt Lake City. We are in receipt of a letter from Heman C. Smith, of Lamoni, la., histo- rian of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 9tating that he was in receipt of the subscription paper signed by a number of Nauvooites welcoming the contemplated monument to the memory of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in the city of Nauvoo, and that he will present it to the committee at once, and to extend to the citizens of Nauvoo their thanks for this consideration. [to be continued. 1 Salt Lake City, Utah.