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Things to Do & See | Historical Societies & Museums | Area Facts | Bookstores | Find Our Publications
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Nauvoo Tourism. www.beautifulnauvoo.com. Check it out for tourist information, hotel-motel accommodations and local business establishments. There are also numerous Bed & Breakfast's in the area. Nauvoo Historical Society. Exhibits at two locations: The Weld House on Mulholland, Nauvoo's main street. The Rheinberger Museum, on the Nauvoo "flat" in the Nauvoo state Park. Hours are somewhat restricted so please check www.beautifulnauvoo.com. Also by Appointment: 217-453-6671.
Nauvoo Galleria. www.nauvoogalleria.com.
Tourist Information Center. 877-628-8661. For listings of businesses, lodging, and tourist attractions, check the Nauvoo web site: www.visitnauvoo.org.
Other Informaton. www.nauvoo.net. Mormon Temple Site. The new Temple was completed and dedicated in June, 2002. To see the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Visitors' Center and Historic Site, many reconstructed Mormon buildings, guided tours, and other activities on the "flat": www.lds.org. Community of Christ (RLDS). Visitors Center, the Joseph Smith Historic Site, The Mansion House and other historic buildings. www.CofChrist.org. Icarian Living History Museum. 217-453-2437. Open by appointment. A very informal collection of Icarian memorabilia, displayed in the barn of Lillian Snyder, a 4th generation ancestor of Icarian Emil J. Baxter. Emil moved to Nauvoo in 1855 to serve as Secretary to Etienne Cabet, just as the French Icarian colony was disintegrating in Nauvoo. He became one of the early grape growers in the area. Scenic River Road Drive. Be sure to drive the 11-mile, Nauvoo-to Hamilton, Hwy. 96 route, along the east bank of the Mississippi River. The river is a mile wide at this point and the area is beautiful any time of the year.
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Nauvoo Historical Society 217-453-6671. Hancock County Historical Society 217-357-0043. e-mail: hancockhistory@yahoo.com. Kibbe Hancock Heritage Museum 217-357-3119. 306 Walnut Street, Carthage, Illinois 62321. National Icarian Heritage Society 503 8th Street. Corning, Iowa 50841. Illinois State Historical Society Old State House, Springfield IL 62706. State Historical Society of Iowa 319-355-3916. Iowa City, Iowa 52240.  Colorado Historical Society 303-866-2306. Colorado History Museum 1300 Broadway, Denver CO 80203. www.coloradohistory.org.  LDS Visitors’ Center Nauvoo 217-453-2237. Salt Lake City Hqs. 1-800-453-3860. Community of Christ Visitors Center Nauvoo 217-453-2246. Independence, MO Headquarters 1-800-825-2806.
Nauvoo Circa 1846.
For a comprehensive 200-year history, refer to GlennView Publication, ZIG-ZAGTM #1.
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 “The Germans and Swiss played a leading and an honorable part in the development of Nauvoo although little credit has been given to them. They came to America about the same time the Icarians did. They were not the military-minded Germans, neither did they have the communistic ideas of the French. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico they came up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, to the very heart of the new country. After three months on a sailboat they were anxious to get settled on land of their own. Hearing of an evacuated city farther north, the small group proceeded to Nauvoo, purchased Mormon property at a bargain, and made this their home. The German language was used in churches, schools, business houses and homes here for more than 50 years. Nauvoo had its German Catholic church and German parochial school; its German Evangelical Lutheran church and German parochial school; and there was also a German Methodist church and a German Presbyterian church. On entering these places of worship it was customary for the men to sit to the right of the aisle and the women to the left. Ladies' Aid societies were known as Fruen Verien. A century ago Nauvoo had two choral groups--Helvetia, composed of Swiss immigrants, and Germania, made up of German immigrants. Songs included "Zu Lauderbach Hab Ich Mein Stremph Forloren" and "Ach Du Liber Augustine"...
A great debt is owed to Ida Blum (Mrs. C. J. Blum) who was a lifelong Nauvoo citizen (1889-1980) . She was very interested in the history of Nauvoo and for many years wrote articles about the area in the "good ole days". Ida was the wife of Carl Blum, one of the 3 original owners of Nauvoo's 3-B Store, a landmark dry goods and grocery store located on Nauvoo's main street. The building now houses the Olde Nauvoo Antique Mall. Recent PHOTOS of Nauvoo | |||||||
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Capt. James White arrives in 1823 and
moves onto what is probably the old (1805) Julien site.
Along with his son Hugh, and settler John Waggoner,
he purchases land in 1824 from the Sauk & Fox
Indians...an encampment of about 400 Indian lodges
called Quashquame or “Jumping Fish” (now Nauvoo).
Robert E. Lee, a surveyor for the United States
Army, makes two trips to chart the Mississippi for a
canal to tame the rapids in the river just below Nauvoo.
Fort Des Moines (now Montrose, Iowa) is at the head
of the Des Moines Rapids. It is the last fort built in this
region, home of the of the former Ioway Indian band.
Land speculator, Isaac Galland, sells the
Mormons a bogus 20-thousand-acre tract, at $2 per
acre, west of the Mississippi and just above the Des
Moines River in the Iowa Territory. It is a part of the
“Half-Breed Tract” set aside by the government for
offspring of mixed marriages...very common in the
area. In May, the Mormons also purchase, from Dr.
Galland, the White and Galland farms across the river
at Commerce (Now Nauvoo). These are legit sales.
In March, Etienne Cabet arrives in Nauvoo
from New Orleans with 230 French followers.
Encouraged by the success of his well-received book
on French social-political reform, Voyage to Icarie,
Cabet buys 12 acres in Nauvoo which had been
vacated by the Mormons three years earlier.
He establishes an Icarian socialist-communal colony.
His group purchases Temple Square and several
surrounding Mormon buildings from Mormon land
agents, plus 663 acres of outlying farmland, for their
utopian communal experiment. Many in the colony
are teachers, artists, engineers, musicians and other
professionals.
Many Germans emigrate to the area and
Nauvoo soon becomes one of the largest German-speaking settlements in Illinois. This practice is
abruptly discontinued when the onset of World
War I makes speaking German highly unwise.
Other immigrants also settle here to lesser degrees,
including English and Irish Catholics...some
immigrants come to escape military duty in their
own native lands. (See Below)
In September, Nauvoo holds its 1st annual
Grape Festival, celebrating the two products for
which it soon becomes widely known...its wine and
its Nauvoo Blue Cheese.
- Ida Blum -
Glenn Cuerden is available for Assignment Photography on Location. For daily rates, credentials, and other