Five More Buildings Restored, Dedicated at Historic Nauvoo

President Marion G. Romney, second counselor in the First Presidency, offered the dedicatory prayer at ceremonies recently dedicating five buildings in the historic Mormon community of Nauvoo, Illinois.

The buildings—Brigham Young’s house, Jonathan Browning’s house and workshop, the Webb wagon and blacksmith shop, the Joseph Bates Noble–Lucy Mack Smith house, and the Seventies Hall—date back to the period 1839–46, when Nauvoo was the largest city in Illinois. It was to become the starting place for the trek westward when approximately 80,000 Saints crossed the plains to Utah. As various buildings are restored and refurbished, the community is becoming both a major tourist attraction and a missionary tool.

With President Romney at the dedicatory ceremonies were President Spencer W. Kimball and Elder Gordon B. Hinckley of the Council of the Twelve and President J. LeRoy Kimball of the Nauvoo Mission, who has provided leadership for the restoration program.

Previously, the homes of Heber C. Kimball and Wilford Woodruff were dedicated, as was the Visitors Center with two modern theaters showing color films on the history of the city.

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Photos by David Johnston