Carthage Jail - A Sacred Place

May 08, 2018

Jail with location of original well

A visit to Carthage

Today we made a visit to the Carthage Jail. This is a very well-built building constructed in about 1838. It is a two-story building with a holding cell on the first floor and a high security cell on the second floor. The high security cell has only two slits in the wall to provide light. The jailer and his family lived at the jail. They had a kitchen and a living room with a bed on the first floor. The parent’s bedroom was on the second floor next to the high security cell.

This building served as a jail for 25 years and then the county sold the building to a family to live in. In 1903 the jail went up for sale. The president of the church at that time, Joseph F. Smith, the son of Hyrum Smith, heard that the jail was for sale and authorized the purchase of this building. It was the first purchase of an historical site by the church. Not much had been done with the jail in 1963 when Glen and Monta Nelson (Norm's parents) and Marge and Norm stopped to see it on the way back from Norm's graduation from Columbia University. A lot has been done since with the addition of a visitor’s center and very nice landscaping. With the restoration of Nauvoo, many people come to this place every year. It is a must see visit for anyone who comes to Nauvoo. To get there you drive South on Highway 96 to Hamilton and then East on highway 136 to Carthage. This is a trip of about 23 miles. Joseph and Hyrum took the direct route of only 16 miles.

On June 25, 1844 Joseph and Hyrum returned to Nauvoo, said goodbye to their families, gazed upon the temple one last time and started on their journey to Carthage. They were accompanied by the entire Nauvoo city council as they had all been charged with rioting because of the destruction of the salacious newspaper, “The Nauvoo Expositor”. They arrived at Carthage and met with Governor Ford who had promised them protection and a fair trial. The judge set a high bail thinking that they could not meet it but the friends of the prophet met the bail and the group spent the night in a hotel. The next day the charge was upped to treason for which there is no bail and Joseph, Hyrum, John Taylor, Willard Richards and six others were escorted to the jail. They spent the first night in the first floor holding cell.

By the next day, the jailer realized that Joseph was the not the person described to him and he moved the group to his bedroom on the second floor. Joseph had sent two groups of three on errands so there were only four people left. During the day they wrote letters to their families and read the scriptures. Joseph asked John Taylor to sing, “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief”.

About 5:00 PM, they saw a mob of about 150 to 200 men, many with their faces painted black coming to the jail. The Carthage Greys, which were supposed to protect Joseph and Hyrum did nothing except help the mob. As a group came up the stairs, Joseph and Hyrum shut the door and locked it. The first volley of fire smashed the lock with another ball passing through the door and striking Hyrum in the face. Hyrum fell backwards exclaiming "I am a dead man". Joseph crossed the room and was shot twice in the back and twice in the front as he fell out of the window to the courtyard. John Taylor was hit several times and fell under the bed. Willard Richards was unscathed because of a promise given him about a year before by Joseph. Once Joseph fell, the mob members who were in the room rushed down to confirm that he was dead. Someone yelled, "The Mormons are coming!" so the mob quickly fled. This was a false rumor but it did save the lives of John Taylor and Willard Richards.

The pictures below show the jail and the room where Joseph and Hyrum were martyred. The door on the room is the original door for the bedroom and contains the bullet hole made when Hyrum was shot. One cannot visit this holy place without strengthening one’s testimony as to the dedication and commitment of Joseph and Hyrum. According to John Taylor, "Joseph Smith the prophet and seer of the Lord, has done more save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in the world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fullness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth the revelations and commandments which compose this book of Doctrine and Covenants, and many other wise documents and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands of the Latter-day Saints, founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!" (D&C 135:3)