Kanesville Tabernacle!

What Is the Kanesville Tabernacle?

This park marks the site of the Kanesville Tabernacle, an important waystation for westbound Mormons on their way to the Salt Lake Valley!

What Makes It Historical?

Before it was Council Bluffs, this town was called Kanesville, after Thomas Kane, who had helped Mormons get settled here after fleeing violence in Nauvoo, Illinois! After the first wave of pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, Brigham Young returned to Kanesville to set up a leadership conference.

To make sure enough folks would be able to attend, the Mormons spent 20 days in December building a new tabernacle that could house over 1,000 tightly packed folks, and then they had four days of conferences! Here, on December 27, 1847, the congregation sustained (voted for and approved) Brigham Young to be the first president of the LDS Church, and for Heber Kimball and Willard Richards to be his counselors.

This conference laid the foundation for leadership succession for the whole Mormon Church, though the building itself only lasted about two years. It had been built hastily from untreated wood on top of an aquifer, so today this site is more of a memorial!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Become a member of the Historical Society of Pottawatomie County!
Donate to the Historical Society of Pottawatomie County!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!