A Look at Historic Nauvoo in Pictures

Nauvoo, located on the banks of the Mississippi River in central Illinois, United States of America, is an important historic site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a piece of Americana.

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Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles tours Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were held in Carthage, Illinois, on Saturday, June 27, 2026.2026 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

After leaving Missouri in 1839, the Church purchased the small town of Commerce, Illinois. Under the leadership of Church founder Joseph Smith, Latter-day Saints built up the Midwestern town, and the Prophet renamed it Nauvoo, or “beautiful” in Hebrew.

Nauvoo was the Church’s headquarters for nearly seven years. The Church of Jesus Christ flourished during that time, and the settlement quickly became one of the largest cities in Illinois. Latter-day Saints were forced to flee their homes in 1846 to begin their migration west following the martyrdom of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum and the hostility in the area.

The focal point in the city’s landscape was the Nauvoo Temple. The original structure was destroyed by an arson fire in 1848. Plans were announced in 1999 to reconstruct the temple on its original site. It was rededicated in 2002.

The city now has a new Nauvoo Temple Visitors’ Center, dedicated on June 27, 2026, where guests can learn about the importance of houses of the Lord in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

More than 30 historic buildings have been restored or reconstructed in Nauvoo to honor the early pioneers, with more than 20 open to the public.