Reawakening Nauvoo the Beautiful: How J. LeRoy Kimball Led the Restoration of Historic Nauvoo, Illinois - Hardcover

The restoration of historic Nauvoo, Illinois, almost never happened. For more than a century after the Latter-day Saint pioneers abandoned the city, its historic homes slowly fell into disrepair, and many feared its remarkable past would be lost forever. Then one Utah physician devoted the rest of his life to bringing it back.

Written by Mitzie Kimball Bigelow, daughter of Dr. J. LeRoy Kimball, Reawakening Nauvoo the Beautiful traces the unlikely journey that began with her father's purchase of a single neglected hundred-year-old brick home-built by his ancestors Heber C. and Vilate Kimball-and grew into the restoration of a charming frontier town and major launching point of the American westward migration.

Blending family stories, faith-filled reflection, and firsthand accounts, the author reveals how her father's quiet determination, generosity, humor, and uncompromising commitment to authenticity laid the foundation for Nauvoo's rebirth. At a time when the city risked fading into obscurity, his work preserved it as a sacred monument to Joseph Smith, early Latter-day Saint pioneers, and the power of historic restoration done with reverence and care.