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Beyond
the Visitor's Center
Historic Mormon Sites in Independence
By Janeen Aggen
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VERSION]
note: click on pictures to enlarge
Latter-day
Saints often rush into Independence, tour the Mormon Visitor’s
Center, and then dash off to Liberty Jail without realizing they
are missing a gold mine of other Church history-related places,
most within a ten block radius from the Center. If you step outside
and look west, you can take a self-guided tour along the Missouri
Mormon Walking Trail, marked with fourteen individually crafted
bronze markers laid into the sidewalks. From the Temple lot proceed
to the Flourney Home, where Bishop Edward Partridge purchased
the original 63 acres for the Temple Lot. This home later belonged
to General Wilson, who entertained Joseph Smith for dinner while
Joseph was under house arrest. Following Joseph’s heart-felt
account of the suffering of the Saints, the General’s wife
broke out in tears. Nearby was the home of Bishop Partridge. It
was from this home that he was dragged to the Square for tarring
and feathering.
The Flourney
Home
The trail
continues to the Rathburn lot, home of an early Mormon blacksmith,
the Printing Office lot, where the Evening and Morning Star was
published, the old 1827 Log Courthouse (later the Gilbert and
Whitney General Store and future courtroom for Judge Harry Truman,
the home site of Lilburn W. Boggs, the governor who issued the
famous Extermination Order of 1838, the Public Square, where Sidney
Rigdon preached and where church members surrendered their weapons,
the Noland House lot, an Inn which housed Joseph Smith and other
leaders while under house arrest, and the lot for the 1827 jail
where at times prominent arrested church leaders, including Porter
Rockwell, were incarcerated.
Christmas Lit Courthouse
Next to the
marker for the 1827 jail is the 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home
and Museum, with gloomy 2-foot thick limestone walls and cells
that resemble a dungeon which held (until jail breaks) famous
civil war guerillas like William Clark Quantrill and Frank James.
The adjoining museum has a small but nicely done Mormon History
exhibit, as well as other exhibits, including and interesting
display of weapons confiscated from prisoners over the years.
Less than
a mile away is the Woodlawn cemetery with the recently marked
grave of William McLellin, an original member of the Quorum of
the Twelve, and that of Lilburn Boggs. Also worth a visit is nearby
Mound Grove cemetery, with its commemorative monument to the fourteen
saints who died in Zion’s Camp and the graves of Joseph
Smith III, the eldest son of Joseph and first president of the
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (now known
as the Community of Christ).
Heading north
from the Visitor’s Center along River Boulevard, you can
retrace the trail of the Saints who fled in the winter of 1833
as they descended the bluff to the Missouri River. Ironically,
this docking area, formerly known as Independence Landing, is
the very place where many of them had landed with high hopes only
a few years earlier. You can also view a monument at the end of
River Street at the LaFarge Cement Company which commemorates
these events.
Three other
attractions across from the Visitor’s Center help Mormons
appreciate our common background and religious heritage with other
churches. First, is the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), a church
built upon 2.5 acres of the original dedicated 63 Temple Lot by
followers of Granville Hedrick who returned to Independence as
early as the 1860s. Their members believe they are the only church
whose doctrine is consistent with all the teachings of the Book
of Mormon and the New Testament. They eagerly await the time when
they can build a temple as the first step in establishing the
New Jerusalem. There is a visitor area in their church with historical
artifacts and a brief video explaining their history.
Secondly,
walk across the street past the temple lot to the Old Stone Church,
first chapel of the Reorganized Church, to enjoy its lovely stained
glass windows of a teenage Joseph Smith and Christ in front of
a stone pyramid-shaped American style temple.
Stained Glass Window of
teenage Joseph Smith
Photographs
courtesy of the Community of Christ
The Community
of Christ (formerly the RLDS Church) also maintains The Temple,
a strikingly modern nautilus-inspired structure, with a silver
spire that extends 300 feet into the sky. Free public tours include
an introductory film, a Japanese meditation garden, a worshipper’s
path, with beautifully etched glass windows depicting the sacred
grove, sculpture and a granite fountain which lead into a large
sanctuary. There is also a fabulous organ with regularly scheduled
concerts, which visitors enjoy as they gaze 200 feet up into the
spiraling ceiling. Don’t miss the lower level Herald Book
Shop and Museum offering books of historical interest, some of
which are for display and some for purchase. This museum includes
such treasures as a wax cameo of Joseph Smith from his home in
Nauvoo, and the petticoat that Emma wore to carry Joseph’s
precious manuscript of the Inspired Version of the Bible as she
crossed the frozen Missouri River in 1833.
Stained Glass Picture of Jesus
Photographs
courtesy of the Community of Christ
Angels
Photographs
courtesy of the Community of Christ
A quick drive
brings you to the National Frontier Trails Center, which commemorates
the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California trails with brilliantly colored
displays, selections from diaries, and “rescued” artifacts
found along the trails. One of the movies at the center on the
Mormon Battalion shows in 25 fascinating minutes how almost 500
Saints marched along the Santa Fe Trail to fight the Mexicans,
and continued by building the California Trail over the Sierra
Nevada Mountains.
Other historical
sites, such as the monument for the first school in Kansas City,
are within a 20 to 30 minutes driving radius. As Bill Curtis,
noted Independence historian and founding member of the Missouri
Mormon Frontier Foundation claims, “They have no idea. If
people knew how much Church history there is there, they’d
stay for two or three days.” His book, Jackson County Missouri
Mormon Historic Sites, details a total of 33 sites.
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See Information
about other LDS Historical Sites click below::
Visit
these sites:
 Nauvoo: Allyn House - Enjoy a clear view
of Nauvoo's history through our temple window display. Allyn House exclusives:
afghan throws, colored star window charm and tie tac, temple sunstones in two
sizes, flying angel and round temple window Christmas ornaments--too many to
mention! Click here or call
(217) 453-2204 |
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 Nauvoo: Fudge
Factory - Send a "sweet remembrance" from Nauvoo! Old fashion fudge &
caramel! We ship anywhere in the US. Order by phone 888-720-1333 or email
us |
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 Nauvoo: Christmas in Beautiful
Nauvoo! - Make Christmas come alive this year with a very special dinner at
the homes of Joseph Smith, a Christmas Spectacular with the Thomas Brothers, the
fabulous Holiday Walk in Uptown Nauvoo, and the restored homes and shops
decorated in 19th Century style. Please click here for more
information, or call 877-NAUVOO-1 ext. 12. |
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 Nauvoo: NauView Guest House - Honeymoon or
renew the romance in our secluded cottage high above the Mississippi. Spirits
soar with breathtaking views of the Nauvoo Temple and historic Nauvoo . Those
who've discovered the NauView Guest House have found it to be a perfect get
away; to rest and reflect. Phone 309-266-8657, or click here for more information
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