Sorry, MAJORLY long post ahead! After we went to the Hill Cumorah, we headed over to the Joseph Smith family home and the Sacred Grove. The Visitors Center was beautiful and we had the nicest senior missionary take us around and show us everything.
Peter and Amanda and Grandpa Zollweg headed to the temple just up the road to do a session while the rest of us explored the farm. Here we are waiting while everyone played musical cars.
This is the log home that Father Smith first built, and added on to, when his family settled in the area. It isn't the original cabin but is a replica.
The inside was so cozy. Sometimes I think families would be happier if we all lived in homes that just met our needs and encouraged us to spend more time together. The Smiths certainly had that!
One of my favorite things about these homes was the gardens. The gardens were full of fall vegetables and herbs and our sister missionary guide said they are able to take home the vegetables and use them when they're ready. I love those small touches that make the history so much more real.
Hank
loves apples. He was so confused when he grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table and tried to bite into it, only to discover it was a wooden apple. He kept gesturing to each apple and pear in the bowl, hoping that the next one he tried would yield, and he tried to bite each one and was thoroughly disappointed.
Upstairs where the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith when he was 17. The kids loved seeing where the boys and girls slept and envisioning so many of them sharing beds.
Jed just made himself at home!
I love this darling high chair. So sweet.
After we finished in the log home, we walked down the lane to the apple orchard and what is called the Frame House. It was so beautiful and sunny and I love this picture of Jed, Eva and Josh walking with Aunt Kathy and Grandma Dorothy (whom Josh began calling "old granny" and everyone followed suit).
A view of the Sacred Grove
and a look back at the log home.
I love this little peek of the Palmyra Temple that you can see through the trees as you walk from the log home to the frame home.
The beautiful orchard that sits in front of the frame home.
This frame home was started by Joseph Smith's oldest brother Alvin, who began building it for his future family and for his parents to retire to. However, he died of what was probably a burst appendix when he was still quite young and, after a long time, the family finished the home and moved there to live.
A well stocked pantry indeed
The original farmhouse sink. Although it didn't have running water, it did drain outdoors. I really enjoyed picturing Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph's mother, washing dishes and watching her children and chickens out the window.
The house has a central chimney with fireplaces that attach in many rooms. Again, I loved picturing Joseph's mother and sisters doing their daily tasks here--cooking, baking bread, drying herbs and socks.
The family dining table
Isn't this THE MOST BEAUTIFUL hutch? I would LOVE something like this in my own home!
Many miracles occurred for the Smith family while Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon from the gold plates. Mobs were constantly trying to steal the plates and Joseph had many trials trying to keep them safe. In one instance, Joseph learned the mob was coming, so he pulled up the bricks in this hearth, placed the plates below the bricks and replaced them before the mob barged in. The mob never found the plates.
Across the lane from the frame house is a huge threshing barn. Grain would be cut and hauled to the barn and then threshed inside.
Once the grain was threshed, it was stored in bins below this loft and the straw was kept in the loft. What fun it must have been to jump around on that straw!
Jed with some old farm tools
Dave was so curious about the apples in the orchard...so he slipped in for a sample. Gasp!
The trees along the path to the Sacred Grove were so beautiful. It is hard to believe these colors are real, but I haven't enhanced this picture in any way.
It was quiet and peaceful in the Sacred Grove. As we were explaining to Jed where we were going, he seemed a little confused that Joseph Smith wouldn't be there to see him (or his minion). The kids really did enjoy crunching through all the leaves and listening to the birds in the trees. We walked around for quite a while and I enjoyed visiting again a spot that was probably a bit of a refuge for the whole Smith family, and not just a place that Joseph visited to pray.
We found this tree that had fallen over in a very marshy area--the roots weren't deep at all. The kids really liked looking at the twisty root system.
Our family in the Sacred Grove. We had such a great visit!
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