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PrevPrevious EpisodeKangaroo Court at Carthage (Part 5 of 7)
Next ExpisodeCan Anything Good Come from…Warsaw? Yes! (Part 7 of 7)Next

Warsaw: Boom or Bust?

Table of Contents: Warsaw: Boom or Bust?

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Following the acquittal of the murderers of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, what happened to the town of Warsaw, Illinois.  Was it a boom-town, a bust, or both?  Brian Stutzman will answer that.

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Brian:  After the church left the area in 1846-47, and moved West, Warsaw prospered for about 30 years because of these rapids. The lightening had to happen. Then in 1877, the government spent $4.5 million at the time and built an eight mile canal on the other side of the river from Keokuk north and it made it so most river boats didn’t have to stop anymore at Warsaw they could just march right up the Mississippi. Within a couple decades, the population of Warsaw went from 4500 down to 2000. Now imagine a frontier town with houses and buildings and stores and hotels for 4500, and all of the sudden, within a couple decades, you’re down to 2000.  You’ve got a lot of empty real estate. That continued to decline.  Today there’s 1550 people on the last census. They’ve got a lot of old, decrepit broken-down buildings.

Brian also tells a chilling story about early Mormon convert Dan Jones.

Brian: They’re lying on the floor and Joseph offers his arm to Dan for a pillow. They’re sitting there talking about life and death and asked if they were ready to die. They suspected that the end might be there. Dan says, “Well, I think I’m ready to die.”  Joseph gives his last prophecy. He gives it to Dan Jones, who was converted because of Thomas Sharp and had just talked to Frank Worrell.  Joseph says, “Dan you will yet see Wales and fulfill the mission appointed to you.”

Brian  This is that night. The next morning Dan Jones is in the jail.  Joseph says, “I’m not feeling good about things. Will you go and get my attorney down in Quincy?” Dan says, “Sure, I’ll leave,” and as he leaves. He goes down the stairs and gets on his horse, and as he leaves he’s shot at by some anti-Mormon mobster. He gets so turned around, he actually takes the wrong road out of town, not to Quincy and he later learns that there was a mob of several hundred people just down the road waiting to kill him, if he went down to Quincy.  The mob was on the correct road. Dan got confused and turned and went down the wrong road and it saved his life. Otherwise, he would have been killed.

Check out our conversation….

- Warsaw: Boom or Bust? - Mormon History Podcast
Warsaw experience both a boom and a bust following the Mormon exodus from Illinois.

Don’t miss out other conversations with Brian!

310: Kangaroo Court at Carthage

309: Gov. Thomas Ford’s Role in Martyrdom & Trial

308: Profile of Anti-Mormon Thomas Sharp

307: The Warsaw-Nauvoo Rivalry

306: The Anti-Mormon Triangle: Warsaw, Carthage, Nauvoo

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More Podcasts with these Guests:

  • Can Anything Good Come from…Warsaw? Yes! (Part 7 of 7)
  • Kangaroo Court at Carthage (Part 5 of 7)
  • Gov. Thomas Ford’s Role in Martyrdom & Trial (Part 4 of 7)
  • Profile of anti-Mormon Thomas Sharp (Part 3 of 7)
  • The Warsaw-Nauvoo Rivalry (Part 2 of 7)

Get more information on the people and things discussed in this episode:

  • Guest: Brian Stutzman
  • Martyrdom of Joseph Smith, Mormon violence, Mormons & Crime, Persecution against Mormons
  • Historical Mentions Joseph Smith, Mormon History, Thomas Ford, Thomas Sharp
  • Tags: anti-Mormon, Brian Stutzman, Church History, Gov Ford, history of Warsaw Illinois, iTunes, Joseph and Hyrum Smith’s killers, Joseph Smith, Keokuk rapids, Martyrdom of Joseph Smith, murder, Nauvoo Legion, Thomas Ford, Thomas Sharp, Warsaw Illinois, Warsaw militia, Warsaw Signal

Tell me when the next episode drops!

PrevPrevious EpisodeKangaroo Court at Carthage (Part 5 of 7)
Next ExpisodeCan Anything Good Come from…Warsaw? Yes! (Part 7 of 7)Next
  • Date: August 23, 2019
  • Guest: Brian Stutzman
  • Martyrdom of Joseph Smith, Mormon violence, Mormons & Crime, Persecution against Mormons
  • Historical Mentions Joseph Smith, Mormon History, Thomas Ford, Thomas Sharp
  • Tags: anti-Mormon, Brian Stutzman, Church History, Gov Ford, history of Warsaw Illinois, iTunes, Joseph and Hyrum Smith’s killers, Joseph Smith, Keokuk rapids, Martyrdom of Joseph Smith, murder, Nauvoo Legion, Thomas Ford, Thomas Sharp, Warsaw Illinois, Warsaw militia, Warsaw Signal
  • Posted By: RickB

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Rick Bennett, Host of Gospel Tangents

Rick Bennett is the friendly, independent historian at the heart of Gospel Tangents LDS Podcast: The Best Source for Mormon History, Science, and Theology. When he isn't interviewing Mormon scholars, prophets, and others, he is teaching math and statistics at Utah Valley University. He also freelances as a research biostatistician in the fields of Dermatology and Traumatic Brian Injuries, as well as in the network television/cable T.V. industries as a sports statistician. Rick holds a Master of Statistics Degree from the University of Utah.

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