Smith Family Homestead

Smith Family Homestead. Historic Nauvoo. When the Latter-day Saints came to this area, this home was one of the only structures here. It was smaller then, only a two-story log building with a summer kitchen, also made of logs. , The property was purchased in May 1839. Emma and Joseph Smith moved in along with their four children: Julia, Joseph III, Frederick, and Alexander. Joseph's parents, Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith, lived in the summer kitchen for a short time with their daughter Lucy. , This home became a place of refuge for the Smith family. It also became a center of activity for the Latter-day Saints, who looked to Joseph as a prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ. , In 1840, Joseph added the one-story room directly in front of you. Friends and family often gathered in that room. Joseph III later recalled that the home was "generally overrun with visitors. There was scarcely a Sunday in ordinary weather that the house and yard were not crowded - the yard with teams and the house with callers." A two-story, four-room structure was added to the original home later., In 1843, Joseph and Emma moved to the home they called the Nauvoo Mansion, located just behind you and to your right. , This site was owned and maintained by Community of Christ until 2024. Tours begin here.