| Its first name was Quashquema, a Fox Indian word meaning "peaceful place." Its current name is Nauvoo, a Hebrew word for "beautiful place" or "pleasant land." This historic town is the backdrop for Nauvoo State Park, on the banks of the Mississippi River in western Illinois' Hancock County.
The 148-acre park, on the south edge of Nauvoo along Illinois Route 96, includes a 13-acre lake with a mile-long shoreline. In addition to fishing, boating, camping & hiking, people return to these serene surroundings for the park's recreational features, its annual grape festival, & to soak up the area's history.
History
Once a Fox Indian village of 400 to 500 lodges, the site of Nauvoo was relinquished by a treaty in 1824 for 200 sacks of corn. Sixty years later, Hancock County's first post office was established here under the name of Venus. By 1834, the name had changed again, to Commerce, & later Commerce City, by some eastern land speculators.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), known as Mormons, settled here in 1839 in hopes of escaping religious persecution. After changing the name to Nauvoo, they incorporated the town & received a special charter from the Illinois Legislature.
Missionaries such as Brigham Young converted thousands in England & elsewhere, causing people to migrate to the area. The town grew as business & industry flourished. By 1844, its population surpassed Chicago's & Nauvoo became Illinois' largest city.
With the boom came an increase in criminal activity. Sentiment toward the Mormons was not favorable during this period, since many people blamed them for the lawlessness. Ironically, lawlessness figured prominently in 1844 when LDS Founder Joseph Smith was shot & killed in the Hancock County jail in Carthage while he was supposed to be under protective custody.
The religious differences that caused the Mormons to settle in Nauvoo also caused them to leave. In 1846, they were driven from Illinois and, under Brigham Young, the majority left for Utah. Others migrated to Texas & Michigan. A few, including the family of Joseph Smith, remained in Nauvoo & formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS). |
Campground: Nauvoo State Park in Nuavoo Illinois *