Skip to main content
Shedd Aquarium

Nauvoo House

890 Main St,, Nauvoo, IL 62354

Historic Sites

In 1841 a group of investors, led by Church of Latter Day Saints founder Joseph Smith, began a joint-stock company to build a massive hotel called the Nauvoo House.

Slowly over the course of the next few years, the building began to take shape. Construction continued after Joseph's death in 1844, but the walls were not yet three stories high when work stopped in 1846.  Decades later Emma Smith’s second husband, Lewis Bidamon, finished part of the structure and together they operated it as a boarding house called the Riverside Mansion.  It was in this building that Emma Smith Bidamon lived during the last eight years of her life. 

More Information

  • Mon: 9:00am – 5:00pm
  • Tue: 9:00am – 5:00pm
  • Wed: 9:00am – 5:00pm
  • Thu: 9:00am – 5:00pm
  • Fri: 9:00am – 5:00pm
  • Sat: 9:00am – 5:00pm
  • Sun: 1:00pm – 5:00pm

There is a $4.00 preservation fee per person for the guided tour of the Smith homes.

How to find us?

Back to Listings

What's happening nearby...

Nauvoo and British Pageants

Partridge & Mulholland Streets in Downtown Nauvoo •  Jul 09 – Aug 03

Enjoy the lively shows by the Nauvoo Performing Missionaries. Experience the majestic Nauvoo Temple on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, stroll the streets, and tour…

Read more about Nauvoo and British Pageants

You might also be interested...

Wilford Woodruff Home

Nauvoo

This is one of the finest and best-preserved brick houses of the 1840s—one of the few homes in Historic Nauvoo furnished with the original inhabitants’ belongings.

Read more about Wilford Woodruff Home

Family Living Center

Nauvoo

Guests can view demonstrations in a wide variety of 19th-century trades such as spinning, bread making, candle making, pottery, rope and barrel making.

Read more about Family Living Center

Lucy Mack Smith Home

Nauvoo

Lucy Mack Smith was the mother of Church of Latter Day Saints founder, Joseph Smith. Joseph Bates Noble, a justice of the peace in Nauvoo, built…

Read more about Lucy Mack Smith Home

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get inspired by top travel stories, gain access to exclusive promotions and contests, and discover even more reasons to #EnjoyIllinois.