Carthage Jail and Visitor's Center

Carthage Jail is the location where the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith were imprisoned and martyred.

On June 24, 1844, Joseph and Hyrum Smith arrived at Carthage Jail. They were under arrest for treason and were held in the jail's upper bedroom along with John Taylor and Dr. Willard Richards. On June 27th, a mob rushed the jail and killed Joseph and Hyrum.

The mob rushed up this staircase in order to get into

the room where the four men were located.

This image is of the room that Joseph and Hyrum

were martyred in.

The jail was reconstructed around 1839. After several years, the jail was made into a house and remained that way until 1903, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased it. The church restored it in 1938.


You can take a tour which begins at the Visitors’ Center with a brief film on Joseph Smith’s life, or you can also enjoy a walk through the beautiful gardens where there is a life-size statue in commemoration of the brothers.

The statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith

Open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday–Saturday.
Open 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sundays.

Location: 310 Buchanan, Carthage, Illinois
Phone: (217) 357-2989

To read more about the history of Carthage Jail, see this site.


Images were taken from these locations:
Carthage Jail
Staircase
Bedroom
Statue