Liberty Hall – A Victorian Treasure “Liberty Hall” is the name given to his home by Joseph Smith III, son of the founder ofthe religious movement known as the Latter Day Saints.When Joseph Smith II was killed in 1844 over sixteen groups emerged. Joseph Smith III became the leader of the “Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints”1 in 1860.The headquarters moved to Lamoni in 1881 when the home was built.It was restored in 1973 to the period of 1900 – 1905, as the middle class home of the Smiths.
There was much life in Liberty Hall: parties, weddings, fun nights in front of the fireplace. And there was tragic death:a son died from a weak heart, a six year old daughter who died from a school ground accident, and a wife who died following a buggy accident when the horses ran away.Joseph Smith III had lost two wives who had given him fourteen children, married two years later for the third time and had three more sons - - thus the big family, and the need for a large house!
Today tourists enjoy visiting the large home that features his bedroom, her bedroom, both on the first floor, and the eight bedrooms upstairs. The house is filled with antiques, someowned by the Smith family, and some quite unique (such as the metal lightweight bathtub that actually cost $43.00 in the 1890’s.) From the fold down bed and “slave cradle,” to the 1892 washing machine, and the lovely décor from days of yesteryear, the house is a small museum! Tour the sitting room with the beautiful solarium, and the library filled with shelves of books, or one bedroom that boasts a strap bed (a small twin size bed with storage beneath.) There’s even a country school on the property moved from its previous site nearby which some of the Smith children actually attended! 1 In 2002 the church changed its name to “Community of Christ.”
Liberty Hall, is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sundays 1:30 to 4 p.m. fromMarch through December.
Liberty Hall Historic Center 1138 W Main St. Lamoni, IA 50140 (641) 784-6133
Curator -- Martha McKain
webmaster - lamonideputy@grm.net City Hall 190 South Chestnut Lamoni, IA 50140 (641) 784-6311