Kanesville Tabernacle

Take a tour of this historic building in the quaint town of Kanesville.

The Kanesville Tabernacle was originally built in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Kanesville was once known as Millers Hollow, Iowa, but then the name was changed to Kanseville to honor a great friend during the church's early days. This tabernacle was built to accommodate a large group of people. A conference was held in the Nebraska and Iowa area, and when they arrived, the leaders decided a building was needed to accommodate all of the saints. This building was completed on December 24, 1847, and a few days later, the church members gathered for a conference. The tabernacle could hold about 1,000 people.

This historical conference is important because it held the reorganization of the presidency of the church, and it set the pattern of succession that is still used today. The tabernacle is just one of the many settlements along the Missouri River that has an important historical significance to the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The building was dismantled after two years because it was deemed unsafe. Most of the members of this settlement continued to migrate Westward to Utah. The reconstructed building is now a part of the visitor center, and it is considered a historical site. 

The visitor center is a log structure located along a busy street in Council Bluff and is surrounded by restaurants and retail stores. The visitor center is open in the winter months from 10 am to 5 pm, and in the summer, it is open from 10 am to 7 pm. Volunteers give free tours to the general public, starting with a film that explains the saints' lives and shares the details of the Mormon Battalion. After the film, visitors can experience the interactive exhibits and tour the reconstructed tabernacle.