NAUVOO, Ill. – Two of Nauvoo’s museums– the Weld House Museum at 1380 Mulholland, and the Rheinberger Museum at 980 S. Bluff St. in Nauvoo State Park– will open to the public on Friday and Saturday, May 12-13.
To help commemorate the openings, the Red Front restaurant (1305 Mulholland) is hosting a nacho fundraiser on Saturday, May 13. Proceeds from sales of nachos on that day will go toward the Nauvoo Historical Society.
The Nauvoo Historical Society has a lineup of the events and speakers planned for the grand opening weekend. These events will be held on the lawn at the east side of the Weld House Museum (if the weather is bad, they will be done at The Inn at Old Nauvoo). There will be snacks and grape juice both days.
The speaker schedule is as follows:
• Friday, May 12, 5:15 p.m.: Lachlan Mackay, director of Historic Properties for the Community of Christ, will lecture on “The Smith Family Cemetery.”
• Saturday, May 13, 1 p.m.: The Weld House and Rheinberger Museums open their doors to the public. At the Rheinberger Museum, Carol (Fowler) Leenerts will demonstrate the art of wool spinning.
• Saturday, May 13, 3 p.m. (at the Weld House): John McCarty, former mayor and owner/manager of Outlaw Tees will tell “The History of the Nauvoo Cheese Factory.”
• Saturday, May 13, 4 p.m.: Paul McKoon, a lifelong Nauvoo Area resident, will regale the audience with “The History of Sonora Township Homecomings.”
• Saturday, May 13, 5:15-6:15 p.m.: The ever-popular local historian Joseph Johnstun will talk about “The Weapons Used During the Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith at the Carthage Jail, on June 27, 1844.” A short question and answer period will follow.
All this will be followed by dinner at the historical Hotel Nauvoo. To make your own reservation in advance, call 217-453-2211.
The Weld House has been owned by the Nauvoo Historical Society since Dec. 22, 1986, when it was purchased from Phillip Steffey for $20,000. It was once a doctor’s office for a Dr. Weld, who lived there in the 1840s. It contains an impressive arrowhead collection, as well as exhibits of the different periods of Nauvoo’s history.