Learn More About International Law in Nauvoo, Illinois

Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the current population is just 1,063 (2000 census), and it is difficult to reach over secondary highways in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its religious significance to members of both the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), other groups stemming from the Latter Day Saint movement, and groups such as the Icarians. The city and its immediate surrounding area are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Nauvoo Historic District. Nauvoo's first recorded name was Quashquema, named in honor of the Native American chief who headed a Sauk and Fox settlement numbering nearly 500 lodges. Frontiersmen knew it as The Head of the Rapids, referring to a treacherous stretch of the Mississippi River. By 1829 the area of Hancock County had grown sufficiently so that a post office was needed, and Venus became the new name for the settlement. In 1832 the town was one of the contenders for the new county seat. However, the honor was awarded to a nearby city, Carthage. In 1834 the name Venus was changed to Commerce because the settlers felt that the new name better suited their plans. In April 1840, Commerce was renamed Nauvoo by Joseph Smith, Jr. , the founder of the Latter Day Saints, and named by him from the traditional Hebrew language with an anglicized spelling. The word comes from Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful upon the mountains... ” It is notable that “by 1844 Nauvoo's population had swollen to 12,000, rivaling the size of Chicago” at the time.