Nauvoo, situated on the Mississippi, on the border with Iowa, played a prominent part in the history of the Mormons. After their prophet Joseph Smith was driven out of Missouri they followed him to this area and established a kind of independent state. Conflicts with opponents and within the Mormon church culminated in the lynching and murder of
Smith and his brother in the local prison. Brigham Young then led the Mormons to Utah. The Mormon period in Nauvoo is recalled by the Joseph Smith Historic Center and the Brigham Young Home in the Nauvoo Restoration Visitor Center.