
Nauvoo Survey Stone - Nauvoo, Illinois
Posted by:
BruceS
N 40° 32.446 W 091° 23.507
15T E 636190 N 4489022
Survey stone marking the starting point in the lay out of the original town of Nauvoo.
Waymark Code: WMF9AD
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 09/13/2012
Views: 9
Text of historic marker:
Nauvoo Survey Stone
This is the site of the original survey stone for Nauvoo, the "city beautiful," founded by church members in 1839 after they were forced to leave Missouri. All streets of the city were platted from this point. The two widest streets in Nauvoo at the time, Main Street and Water Street, intersect here. Main Street binns and ends at the Mississippi River due to the bend in the river at this location. One early plan for the city proposed a canal to be constructed down the center of Main Street to by pass teh dangerous Des Moines rapids. Those working on the project soon hit bedrock and the project was abandoned.
The survey stone is at the southwest corner of Main and Water Streets in Nauvoo on the same property as the Joseph Smith homestead site.