Nauvoo Historic District

A National Historic Landmark. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

From the record

“Nauvoo Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District containing the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. The historic district is nearly coterminous with the City of Nauvoo as it was incorporated in 1840, but it also includes the Pioneer Saints Cemetery, the oldest Mormon cemetery in the area, which is outside the town boundary.”
Wikipedia article Nauvoo Historic District, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 9 National Register listings published here for Hancock County · listed in 1966 · category: District · a National Historic Landmark.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Address. Nauvoo and its environs, Nauvoo, 62354
When was it listed? October 1966
Category. district
Township. Nauvoo township
National Register reference number. 66000321 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Nauvoo township. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws, published 1880 - Nauvoo Township

John D. Lee

Our readers will remember this individual as having been tried, found guilt}-, and executed a few j-ears ago in Utah, for his participation in the Mountain Meadow Massacre. In looking over the Church organ, we find his name as having been a resident at K^auvoo in ISiS, and a ti-aveling elder, preaching and healing the sick, as reported.

Read the rest of this passage

The ground it stands on

47,953 words

The chapter on Nauvoo Township in History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws, published 1880 names Nauvoo. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

Before me, John C. Bennett, Mayor of the City of Nauvoo, personally came Joseph ' Smith, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly called Mormons), who. being duly sworn accorcUng to law, deposeth and saith, that he has never directly or indirectly encom-aged the purloining of property, or taught the doctrine of stealing, or any other evil practice, and that all such vile and unlaw- ful acts will ever receive his unqualified and unreserved disapproval, and the most vigorous opposition of the Church over which he presides, aud fm-ther this deponent saith not.

Passage source: History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws, published 1880.

City of Nauvoo, III., Nov. 30, 1841. To Brevet-Moj.-Gen. WiUon Law: - We, the undersigned, memljcrs of the General Court Martial, detailed by you on the order of Lt.-Gen. Smith, through Maj.- Gen. Bennett, for the trial of David Smith and Joseph Holbrook, officers of the Nauvoo Legion, charged with theft, and being accessory thereto, are of the opinion that they are guilty of the charges preferred against them, and our unanimous decision is that they be casJiiered, and their names be stricken from the rank roU. Witness against David Smith - Hazen Kimball. Witnesses against Joseph Holbrook - B. Young and W. Richards.

Passage source: History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws, published 1880.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Nauvoo Township - 47,953 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Mines and quarries near this property

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Nauvoo Historic District: 2 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Molybdenum. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Fort Madison Conversion Mo Plant	Molybdenum	Producer
Brockman Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Unknown	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Hancock County

Storms near this property

34 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Nauvoo, the town this property stands in, in 34 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 14 thunderstorm wind, 11 hail, 5 flood, 3 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	$3,500,000	Also by spotters. Trees flattened.
June 2010	Flood	Nauvoo	$250,000	Heavy rains during the third week of June resulted in the Mississippi River at Keokuk going above the moderate flood stage level of 17.5 feet on June 22 around 5 am. It crested around 18.6 feet around 7 pm June 22. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 1 pm June 25.\|\|The Mississippi River at Gregory Landing went above the moderate flood stage level of 18 feet on June 22 around 3 am. It crested around 19.7 feet around 1 am June 23. It fell below the moderate flood stage level around 8 am June 28.
September 2003	Hail	Nauvoo	$70,000	Minor street flooding from heavy rain.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	$40,000	Downburst winds produced a damage path that was 5 blocks long and 100 yards wide. The path of wind damage was from northwest to southeast from near Knight Street on Route 96 to near the Parley Street extension. The majority of the damage occurred to trees. Many of the trees were large, with several being uprooted. One newer brick building, with double doors, had one door blown off or damaged. The Nauvoo Family Motel had glass in the front door and glass and pictures in the lobby shattered by the wind.No injuries were reported.
June 2010	Flash Flood	Nauvoo	$10,000	Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding of Highway 96 in western Hancock County during the afternoon and early evening of June 12. The highway was under water at several locations between Hamilton, IL and Dallas City, IL. In addition, flood waters covered part of the Powelton Blacktop east of Nauvoo, IL as well as various parts of northwest Hancock County.
September 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	$10,000	Illinois highway 96 covered with downed branches between Nauvoo and Hamilton.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	$10,000	KDVN 88D had 80+ knots aloft in Lee County Iowa
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	$5,000	Numerous trees down
August 2003	Hail	Nauvoo	$5,000	no account filed
May 2004	Hail	Nauvoo	$4,000	no account filed
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	$3,000	Trees down and Great River Rd.
June 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	-	Major tree damage reported around town.
March 2019	Flood	Nauvoo	-	Heavy rain and snow melt across the region caused the Mississippi River at Lock and Dam 19 near Keokuk Iowa to to rise above major flood stage of 19 feet on March 22nd. The river remained above major flood stage through the end of the month. An initial crest of 20.78 feet occurred around midnight on the 31st.
May 2019	Flood	Nauvoo	-	The Mississippi River at Keokuk Lock and Dam 19 rose above its major flood stage of 19 feet during morning of May 22nd and continue into June. The river crested at 25.60 feet at 3 PM CST on May 30th. This was the 3rd highest crest on record.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	-	A member of the public reported numerous trees and powerlines down in Navoo. A mobile home was destroyed. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
April 2019	Flood	Nauvoo	-	The Mississippi River at Keokuk Lock and Dam 19 rose above its major flood stage on April 5th and fell back below major flood stage on the 16th. The river remained near a crest of 19.7 feet the 10th through the 13th.
April 2019	Hail	Nauvoo	-	A public report of nickel size hail was received.
August 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	-	The sheriffs office relayed reports of branches down on power lines in Nauvoo. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
March 2016	Hail	Nauvoo	-	Hail reported up to the size of dimes.
July 2015	Flash Flood	Nauvoo	-	Highway 96 was closed for localized flash flooding.
July 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	-	Isolated trees were down in town and also 4 to 5 miles south of town.
May 2013	Flood	Nauvoo	-	Heavy rains during the last week of May resulted in the Mississippi River at Keokuk, IA going above the major flood stage level of 19 feet during the evening of May 29th. It briefly fell about 1/4 of an inch below the major flood stage level during the early evening hours of May 30. It then rose above 19 feet and remained above it through the end of the month.
June 2002	Flash Flood	Nauvoo	-	Portions of a blacktop road between Nauvoo and Hamilton covered with 6 inches of water.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	-	60 mph thunderstorm wind gusts reported by trained spotter.
August 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	-	Law enforcement reported power lines down
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	-	Trees downed.
March 2024	Hail	Nauvoo	-	no account filed
May 2024	Hail	Nauvoo	-	no account filed
April 2020	Hail	Nauvoo	-	no account filed
April 2020	Hail	Nauvoo	-	no account filed
April 2020	Hail	Nauvoo	-	no account filed
May 2004	Funnel Cloud	Nauvoo	-	no account filed
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Nauvoo	-	no account filed
May 1998	Hail	Nauvoo	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Hancock County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

2 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph	Property	Distance	Listed
	William J. Reimbold House	0.7 miles	1987
	Cambre House and Farm	3.4 miles	1984

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 66000321 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Hancock County	All 9 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.