Heber C. Kimball Home

LOCATION: Munson and Partridge Streets

All Sites, Tours, Shows, and Rides at Historic Nauvoo are FREE!

The Heber C. Kimball Home was the inspiration for the restoration of Nauvoo. If homes could speak, this one would tell a tale of two Kimballs – Apostle Heber C. Kimball, who built the home, and Dr. J. LeRoy Kimball, his great-grandson, who repurchased and restored it.

Heber, his wife Vilate, and their three children arrived in Nauvoo with almost nothing, having lost virtually everything they owned in Missouri. Heber dismantled an old stable to make a crude lean-to for his family. He built two log homes before finally completing this brick home. The Kimballs lived in this house only four months and five days before joining the exodus from Nauvoo. Heber’slife was dedicated to serving the Lord.

Heber C. Kimball served as one of the original missionaries for the LDS Church in the British Isles, and would have brought home dishes such as these to his wife, Vilate. Dr. LeRoy Kimball intended the home to be used as a summer retreat for his family. However, as the work of restoration progressed, it became an immediate tourist attraction. Dr. Kimball restored the home as a memorial to his great-grandfather, and made it available for public view. In doing so, the idea for the restoration of the city of Nauvoo was born. Dr. Kimball became the first president of Nauvoo Restoration, Inc., and served in this capacity for twenty-five years.

In this beautiful home, you’ll see many items belonging to the Kimballs, and hear tales of both Heber and LeRoy. In the hallway hangs a series of interesting pencil sketches done by Frederick H. Piercy as he steamed up the Mississippi on his way to Utah.