The Nauvoo House

On June 19, 1841, Joseph Smith received a revelation from the Lord commanding the Saints to build a large boarding house called the Nauvoo House. The building was to be built at the same time as the House of the Lord (the Nauvoo Temple) and was intended to provide a place for those coming into the area to “contemplate the glory of Zion” (Doctrine and Covenants 124: 60). Rising up from the riverbank, the Nauvoo House would represent hope, health, safety, and holiness for those arriving in the city.

Lucien Woodworth designed a building that would have two large wings, each 120 feet long, 40 feet wide, and rising to over 4 stories tall; it would have room enough to accommodate 300 visitors. George Miller, Lyman Wight, John Snyder, and Peter Haws served as trustees of the project, raising money and overseeing construction. Local businessmen and Church members bought 50-dollar building stocks to offset the cost. In a grand ceremony on October 2, 1841, construction began with the laying of the southeast cornerstone. Builders worked on the Nauvoo House and Nauvoo Temple simultaneously. They cut lumber, quarried stone, and donated labor for both buildings.

After the Prophet Joseph Smith’s death, Brigham Young urged work to continue. By the Fall of 1845, it became clear that both buildings could not be finished before the Saints would have to leave the city. Efforts were shifted to completion of the temple leaving behind an unfinished, two-story shell of stone and brick with no roof. Beginning in 1867, Emma Hale Smith and her second husband, Lewis Bidamon, took materials from the unfinished building and used them to create a boarding house out of the southwest corner of the Nauvoo House. They called the new building the Riverside Mansion and added a stable to house horses for guests. Emma lived in the Riverside Mansion for the last 8 years of her life before her death in 1879.

Read about the settlement of Nauvoo, and the Lord’s commandment to build the Nauvoo House in Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 35.

The Nauvoo House was owned and operated by Community of Christ as part of the Joseph Smith Historic Site. Stewardship transferred to Historic Nauvoo in 2024. We are grateful for the care of past stewards and for continuing collaboration with Community of Christ and other partners.

What to Expect

As part of the larger tour of the Smith Family Homestead, you can view the Nauvoo House from the outside.