Four Restored Nauvoo Projects Dedicated

The final four restoration projects completed by the Church as part of the Nauvoo sesquicentennial celebrations were dedicated October 7 during ceremonies at the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds.

President Gordon B. Hinckley, First Counselor in the First Presidency, and Elder Loren C. Dunn of the First Quorum of the Seventy were among the speakers at the dedication. Elder Dunn, President of the Church’s North America Central Area, conducted the program.

Dedication of the burial grounds, the Stoddard Tinsmith Shop, the Riser Boot and Shoemaker Shop, and the two-story barn completed current Church plans for restoration projects in Nauvoo. Earlier this year, the restored jail complex was dedicated at nearby Carthage, where Joseph and Hyrum Smith died. Two new videos have also been put into use this year at the Nauvoo and Carthage visitors’ centers; the Carthage film memorializes Joseph and Hyrum, and the Nauvoo film pays tribute to what the Latter-day Saints accomplished in building the city.

The boot and shoemaker shop was among the projects dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley, First Counselor in the First Presidency. (Photo by Mike Trapp.)

“A port in a storm is always beautiful. Nauvoo was a port in a storm,” President Hinckley said during the dedicatory service. The city was a haven for Latter-day Saints pursued by their enemies.

He quoted Heber C. Kimball, who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve while the Saints lived in Nauvoo and who became First Counselor to President Brigham Young not long after the Latter-day Saint exodus. Elder Kimball commented that the city, with its many fine houses, temple, and other structures, was “a very pretty place, but not a long-abiding place.”

President Hinckley noted that returning to the city was “a rather touching thing” for him because one of his ancestors had fled from Nauvoo with the Saints, left a young wife buried on the plains, and continued on to the Salt Lake Valley with an infant child.

President Hinckley paid tribute to Dr. J. Leroy Kimball, who was present at the October 7 dedication, for “a dream you had after buying the Heber C. Kimball home, to build memories for those yet to come here to Nauvoo.” Dr. Kimball’s efforts several years ago led to many of the Church restoration projects in the area. He was honored recently by the Nauvoo Historical Society for his restoration work.

Elder Dunn praised the efforts of the many individuals who have contributed to the restoration, particularly those who gathered the records of individuals buried in the restored cemetery. He also expressed gratitude for the cooperation of leaders of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. “I’m pleased to say we enjoy a cordial and harmonious relationship,” Elder Dunn said.

Representatives of the RLDS Church were present at the dedication, along with mission, region, and local LDS Church officials, representatives of the local ministerial association, Nauvoo city officials and other local government leaders, and interested citizens. Nearly five hundred people attended.

The Old Nauvoo Burial Ground, resting place of many of the Nauvoo Saints, has also been restored. It and the restored tinsmith shop, boot and shoemaker shop, and barn help give visitors a historical context for understanding Nauvoo as it was during the early 1840s.

Correspondent: Mike Trapp.