Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Mansion House

This is the shed that was at one point the unknown grave of the prophet Joseph and his brother, Hyrum. Obviously the shed is not original, but the spot is where they were buried.
Obvously the Saturn Vue is not a part of Old Nauvoo, but the building behind it is the Nauvoo House. It was also built to house Joseph and Emma and people who came to Nauvoo. After the martyrdom of the prophet, Emma and her children were driven out of Nauvoo for a period of about 6 years. She returned with Lucy Mack, who was frail and ill, her children and her husband, Louis Bideman. They lived in this facility until Emma's death. It is now used by the Community of Christ as a place for groups to come in and stay. If they are not using it for their Church, people can rent it. It's pretty pricy, but in comparison to hotels, you can get a lot of people in here. It's wonderful for youth groups.

This home was built for Joseph and Emma so they could accommodate all the guest who came into town. In the back you can see a huge foundation that indicated it went back twice or three times the size of the current building. Joseph and Emma, along with their children lived in the very front of the home in a small space, with all the other space given to others who would come to visit, or needed a place to live. One interesting fact about the home, there is a "hidden closet", which allowed the prophet to crawl into the attic and hide from men who were here to do him harm. It would have been from this domicile that the prophet left for Carthage.
In the basement is where the official viewing of the prophet and Hyrum was held, and they were buried here for a very short time before being removed to an unknown grave.

2 comments:

Mr C said...

It never ceases to amaze me how he shared everything they had with the saints.

JoDell said...

I can't stop looking at this picture and wondering about all the many conversations that took place within the walls of this home. Truly a hollowed place!!