Posts by mlarsen
Lorenzo and Eliza R. Snow Home
Lorenzo Snow, who became the fifth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his sister, Eliza R. Snow, were born in this house in Mantua, Ohio (about 30 miles from Kirtland). The home still stands and is now a private residence. A little history of the site is found on a…
Read MoreThe John Johnson Farm
The eruption of Mt. Tambora in 1815 (pix #1 & 2) caused crop failures in many parts of the world in 1816-1818. Thousands of people migrated from Vermont and New Hampshire in search of a better climate and better farmland. The Johnson family in Vermont moved to Hiram Ohio in 1818 for this reason. They…
Read MoreCovered Bridges of Astabula
Thirty-nine miles from Kirtland Ohio is the town of Ashtabula where there are a number of covered bridges dating from the mid eighteen hundreds. The purpose for covering a bridge was to keep the wood dry. In this part of Ohio it rains often and wood exposed to constant moisture deteriorates more rapidly and would…
Read MoreA Visit to Fairport Harbor
A Visit to Fairport Harbor We took an afternoon to visit Fairport Harbor and see the “Mormon Rock” (See picture below). Fairport Harbor has a special place in the history of the saints coming to Kirtland. Located twelve miles northeast of Kirtland on Lake Erie, this harbor was the landing point for many of the…
Read MoreSenior Missionary P-Days
Join us on a P-Day adventure P-Days for senior missionary couples is different than it is for Elder and Sister missionaries in our mission. Besides taking care of shopping and personal needs, we are allowed to travel throughout the mission. We let our director know where we plan to go and when we plan to…
Read MoreIsaac Morley Farm and School House
As senior missionaries, we usually are assigned one shift each week at the Morley Farm (See Pix #1). We have a pavilion there (Pix #2) where guests come and we talk to them about who the Morleys’ were, what happened on their farm, and their introduction to the Church. We share a delightful story about…
Read MoreHistoric Johnson Inn
The first brick building built in Kirtland was the Peter French Tavern (pix #1). By 1827 it functioned as a typical hotel and country inn, for the entertainment of travelers, where traveling guests could find a meal and a bed as well as fodder and shelter for their horses at the livery stable across the…
Read MoreThe Early American Ashery
What in the world is an Ashery and what was it used for? The ashery in Historical Kirtland is the only known reconstructed ashery in existence in North America. In its era it was an important industry in most communities. At the Kirtland Historical Site we take people on tours of the ashery facility and…
Read MoreKirtland Flats Sawmill
As the Saints gathered to Kirtland lumber was needed to build homes. The Kirtland Flats Sawmill was built on Stoney Brook in the fall of 1833. It was built primarily to provide lumber for the interior woodwork of the temple and generate funds to help pay for the construction of the temple. The sawmill also…
Read MoreNewel K. Whitney Home
When Joseph and Emma Smith arrived in Kirtland about February 1, 1831 they were taken in by Newel K. and Ann Whitney and shared their home with them for four to six weeks. During this period Joseph received four revelations in the Whitney home which became sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. On February 4,…
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