Start your tour at the center of Voree in
the Mormon Park, where the Burlington Historical Society has erected a monument
Start your tour at the center of Voree in
the Mormon Park, where the Burlington Historical Society has erected a monument
Bronze plaque with a map of Voree on one
side of monument
Other side of the monument has a memorial to
the church
Nearby Hill of Promise, where the prophet
James and witnesses unearthed brass plates
Walk or drive the lane up the hill to the
sacred sites
Without foliage in the fall you can discern
the slope of the hill
In the grove you can find a granite rock
with a brass plaque commemorating the spot where the ancient record was found
Plaque summarizes the account of the history
of the discovery under an oak tree
Depression where plates were dug still
visible through the snow in this 1897 engraving
Blazed tree showing area near where plates
were found, from a negative made about 1905
Hole where tree was removed and the plates
were found, from a 1906 newspaper photograph
Looking up in September you can see the
silhouette of oak leaves in the sky
Facsimile of the Voree plates, from an 1847
woodcut broadside
All over you can find impressions of former
dwellings, barns, and the sacred Tower of Zion built at the top of the hill
The Tower of Zion was paid for by
contributions as shown in this Voree tithing record conveyed by the bishop Gilbert Watson
to the prophet James
Once the foundations were visible too, as in
this 1897 engraving
This photo taken about 1905 shows a deeper
excavation than is visible today
Most habitations were tiny board cabins over
dugouts in the hill, probably not as fancy as this nearby Aldrich family cabin
This sheep shed has lathe and plaster inside
from its days as a hand-hewn stone house
Fine hand-hewn stone house on Mormon Road,
saved from bulldozing by John Jason Hajicek
Wooden sign that is close enough for
motorists to read on Mormon Road
Mormon Road house, already abandoned in a
1927 newspaper photograph
Mormon standing near the Mormon Road house
in this 1928 photograph—notice the other Mormons sitting on the step
Hand-hewn stone house where the Voree
Herald was printed and the prophet James died when he was martyred—the bow in
the roof has been there since the 1800s
Copies of the Voree Herald and
other church newspapers printed in Voree 1846-1850
Francis Cooper, who edited the Voree
Herald in the 1840s, shown here still typesetting in the next century
Archives where the sacred church records
have been kept during most of this century
Chronicles of Voree, the manuscript record
of the appointment of James by the prophet Joseph, found in the stone Archives
Stone quarry reflection on the water, where
the Mormons cut their stone for their houses, Tower of Zion, and Temple
The Mormon quarry as it looked in a 1906
newspaper photograph
Minerals in the quarry such as iron, copper,
and zinc have tinted this unpolished marble in brilliant colors
Silhouette of plant life near the quarry
Abandoned gravel pulverizer near the quarry
Lake-stone house with cream city brick
quoins, which may have been the home of Lemuel Smith—church preaching was done in his
barn in the 1840s
Detail of architecture by artisans from the
Erie Canal in New York—the most uniform stones were sorted for the front, less
perfect ones on the ends, and least desirable ones in the back—intricate trowel work
set the stones into place
Lake-stone house with red brick quoins,
which was the home of Alma Aldrich until it burned years ago
View of the Aldrich home in years past
House with rows of granite rocks, white
limestone quoins, and cream city brick window and door lintels—abandoned west of
Voree almost to North-Lyons Road on Highway 11
Lake-stone house between Burlington and
Voree with cream city brick quoins, with most uniformly small stones near the bottom
Farmer tilling the black soil where Mormons
used to use plow horses—there is a local gentile legend that the soil in Voree is so
rich that if you plant nails in the morning you will have fence posts by evening
View of temple lot from the northwest
Looking the other direction in a 1906
newspaper photograph
View from temple lot looking south
Deer path along a ridge of stone that may be
the temple foundation
Stone pieces that may be old enough to be
temple ruins
Floor plan of the Voree temple complex,
which had a walk-out lower-level facing the White River on the south
Details of the Voree temple in the
handwriting of the prophet James, now at Yale University
White River where Mormons did their
baptizing for the dead, looking south from the bridge
Wingfield Watson and his Mormon family on
the White River bridge about 1910
White River looking north from the bridge
Close-up of nature near the White River
Mormon child demonstrating how large the oak
trees are along Mormon Road, where they lined the street before the road was widened
Diary of Edward Chidester, who chronicled
the martyrdom of the prophet James
Monument in the Voree cemetery where the
prophet James was buried after his martyrdom
Single remaining tombstone in the Voree
cemetery
Single tombstone as it looked in a 1906
newspaper photograph
A piece of Voree marble tombstone recovered
from a nearby doorstep when a house was bulldozed
Farm buildings and implements on the
cemetery
Red barn built over the white-washed
limestone of a Mormon-period building near the cemetery
Gray weathered barn on quarry stone
foundation
Gray barn with closer view of massive
foundation
Close up of rusty windmill
Granite and wood silo near Voree
Memorial to Wingfield Watson with Mormon
children in park-like setting
Close-up of Memorial to Wingfield Watson
Original Wingfield Watson house on the first
Mormon trust farm near North-Lyons Road and Highway 11
Later Wingfield Watson house near Mormon
Road and Highway 11 in the center of Voree
Wood frame house no longer standing from
Mormon era
Small wood house beside modern prosperity in
the area
Early church prophecies say that Voree would
be built on Gardner’s Prairie. Here is the original Palmer Gardner house,
still standing on Highway DD—courtesy of Ralph Wilson
House built of Mormon quarry stone on Spring
Prairie Road by a famous Wisconsin horticulturist
House at the corner of Beineman Road and
Spring Prairie Road built of stucco over Mormon quarry stone
Building which housed the law offices of
Caleb Barnes in 1847, who had earlier been law partners with the prophet James, and where
James afterwards frequented
Cabin of Moses Smith, Wisconsin’s first
Mormon in 1835. He was a friend and business associate of Joseph Smith, and ran a
Nauvoo general store like the prophet Joseph (courtesy of the Burlington Historical
Society)
Utah-viewpoint monument in Echo Lake Park in
Burlington, which does not mention the prophet James whatsoever, but memorializes Moses
Smith (who was an apostle under the prophet James and not a follower of Brigham)
Daughters of the American Revolution
monument to Aaron Smith, the father of Moses Smith
Distant view of the Aaron Smith monument in
Wagner Park in Burlington
Burlington Cemetery where the prophet James
was directed to be moved, and where other early leaders are buried
Hudson Cemetery in nearby Lyons Township,
where the second generation of Mormons was buried beginning with Wingfield Watson
Voree meeting house viewed from the corner
of Mormon Road and Highway 11, built in 1927
Voree meeting house with spring flowers
Voree meeting house in park-like setting
Visitor’s automobiles parked along
Mormon Road near the Voree meeting house
Visitors gathered outside the Voree meeting
house
Inside look at the Voree meeting house,
changed little since 1927
1948 Mormon print shop, the Voree Press,
where the 336 page Book of the Law of the Lord was reprinted in 1948-49, as well as the
1950 Diamond.
A building on Spring Valley Road where a
modern Mormon group meets after forming a new organization in 1961
Departing view of Voree
Only located daguerreotype image of the
prophet James, scanned directly from the original
High resolution magnification of the prophet
James—the closest you will ever get to looking directly into the eyes of the only
prophet ever to be photographed
Prophet James holding book, from a cabinet
card
Life-mask casting of the face of the prophet
James without a beard, in historical society collection
Letter of Appointment, envelope. From
Joseph Smith to James Strang, dated at Nauvoo, Illinois, June 18, 1844, and postmarked the
next day. This is the facsimile that Yale University will mail to you upon request
Letter of Appointment, page 1
Letter of Appointment, page 2
Letter of Appointment, page 3
License given to the hundreds of
Mormon preachers who visited Voree
Gospel Tracts, 1-4, printed in Voree by John
E. Page, who was an apostle under both prophets Joseph and James
Diamond, an 1848 tract printed at
Voree with the presidential succession documentation
Catholic Discussion, an 1847 tract
printed at Voree to discuss the nature of God
Hymns, printed at Voree (the little
Mormon church in Voree printed two hymn books before one was ever printed by the
Utah-based church in America)
Memorial to Congress, printed when
the Mormons were leaving Voree to go to Beaver Island, Lake Michigan, in 1850
Copyright © 1999, 2001 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Info.