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The Early Church
Book of Mormon
Kirtland, Ohio
Missouri
Nauvoo, Illinois
Confusion & Disorganization
 
Church History Principles
 
Under leadership of...
     Joseph Smith III
     Frederick M. Smith
     Israel A. Smith
     W. Wallace Smith
     Wallace B. Smith
     W. Grant McMurray
     Stephen M. Veazey
  
"Letter of Instruction"
    
Community of Christ
Historic Sites Foundation

Mansion House

Built in 1843, the Mansion House was the second home in Nauvoo of Joseph Smith Jr. (church founder) and his wife Emma. A hotel wing was added and opened in late 1843. The hotel was leased to Ebenezer Robinson in January 1844. As part of the lease agreement, the Smith family maintained three rooms for their private residence.

Politicians, such as Stephan A. Douglas of the Illinois Supreme Court, were entertained at the Mansion House. In 1844, Joseph Smith Jr. announced his candidacy for President of the United States for the 1844 election from the men’s sitting room.

Internal confusion and conflicts with surrounding communities grew as Nauvoo increased in size. On June 27, 1844, an angry mob broke into the Carthage, Illinois, jail and killed Joseph and his brother Hyrum who had been imprisoned there. Their bodies were returned to the Mansion House where they laid in state until the burial.

Emma and her family continued to live in the Mansion House for a time, and remained in Nauvoo until her death on April 30, 1879. By the 1890s the hotel wing had deteriorated to the point that it was torn down. The foundation of the hotel wing is still located on the east side of the Mansion House.

 
    

  

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