By COLIN BENNETT
NAUVOO, Ill. — The rebuilding of the Nauvoo Illinois Temple a decade ago created excitement along the banks of the Mississippi River, bringing thousands of visitors to Nauvoo and encouraging others to make this small town their home.
But now, eight years after the dedication of the temple, Nauvoo’s economy is adjusting to fewer tourism dollars as the national economic downturn affects discretionary spending.
“Everybody made a mad rush to see it the first three or four years,” said Estel Neff, a business owner who has lived in the Nauvoo area his whole life. “Once they’ve seen it, no one is going to come here unless they’re going to do temple work.”
After its humble beginning as a marshland called Commerce, Nauvoo grew to one of the largest cities in Illinois after members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began arriving in 1839. During the 1840s, the city was a thriving economic and cultural center, but Nauvoo’s fortunes in the 20th century declined. Church history-related tourism has driven much of the town’s economy since World War II.
In 1999, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced reconstruction of the Nauvoo Temple, which was built on a hill in the 1840s but subsequently abandoned by Latter-day Saints fleeing religious persecution and then destroyed. When the temple was dedicated in 2002, some people in the community feared Church members would overrun Nauvoo.
While there was initially an increase in tourism, gas prices went up and the tour buses of people decreased, Neff said. The situation has left some residents wishing more Latter-day Saints would come.
“When it was first announced and every year after until this last year, we saw a spike in sales and prices, but that has slowed down now,” said Vicki Marting, who owns Marting Real Estate in Nauvoo. “The excitement over the temple is dying down and the real estate is lower than it has ever been.”
Marting attributes the drop in real estate activity to the national economic situation as well as people having already seen the rebuilt temple. After the temple was built, property values rose but not all incomes have matched that rise, residents said.
“Growing up in Nauvoo, this has always been a tourist town,” said Linda Nelson, whose family has lived in Nauvoo for three generations. “Tourists have always been a part of Nauvoo, but more so now because they come for the temple and they come year-round for the weddings.”
Nelson, who has worked at the Allyn House for five years, said some Latter-day Saint tourists will not patronize a business unless it is owned by a member of the Church. She said that attitude can create hard feelings in a small town with many churches.
“We all try to live here and respect each other’s differences,” she said. “Hopefully what happened a long time ago will never happen again. I don’t think that we will ever allow it to happen again.”
Just as they were in the 19th century, relations between Latter-day Saints and others in Nauvoo remain an essential and sometimes difficult part of the town’s well-being. Business owners of all faiths rely largely on the summer tourism brought in by the Church’s Nauvoo Pageant, which runs this year from July 6-31.
“It’s very difficult to run a business in Nauvoo because basically you have June and July where you make a good profit,” said Debbie Allen, who owns the Allyn House with her husband, Charles. “It has to last you through the next June and July, so you have to plan ahead.”
Allen said the temple’s reconstruction did not have as much impact on the community as some residents anticipated, but she believes it has helped business owners.
“We wanted to go to a place where there would be a temple and the temple had been announced,” said Gerri Pack, manager of the Latter-day Harvest bookstore.
Pack came to Nauvoo at the time of the groundbreaking for the temple and has lived there ever since. She said she has loved living in Nauvoo because it has been a good place to raise her children.
“Our Christmas is in July,” she said. “July is when the pageant is here and that’s what we wait for and hopefully that pulls us through.”
Pack said the temple has helped Church membership to grow, especially with retired couples. But growth has been a two-edged sword for the community because the influx of investment in the form of outside dollars caused property values to rise, and that resulted in higher property taxes. Some business owners complain that higher taxes mean they are worse off than before the temple reconstruction because incomes have not increased in tandem with expenses.
Pack and many members of the community said they are hopeful Nauvoo University will grow and bring more business to Nauvoo (see accompanying story). In an effort to expand the economic base, the community also promotes activities throughout the year such as a grape festival, pumpkin walk and Christmas activities. Nauvoo hopes to diversify its economic resources while retaining a small-town charm and historic significance.
“I think it’s an incredible opportunity for anyone to come, worth any cost and worth any sacrifice to get here,” said Karen Haering, manager of an art gallery called Temple House.
Haering moved to Nauvoo from Highland nine months ago after meeting the owners of the gallery at BYU Education Week. She said she uses the art in the Temple House to teach members and non-members about the temple and history of Nauvoo.
“The Church history is incredible,” she said. “The one thing I hear repeatedly between my guests at the inn and the people who come here to town is that they’ve always known these things were true, but somehow being here makes it so real. They become real people to them.”
