Life is random. It’s unpredictable. It’s strange. I didn’t give Nauvoo another thought and accepted it as a dot on the map, possibly a Jewish settlement from a long time ago. That is how the Fort Drum guide explained it. Case closed. But something strange happened. I’m a quirky modern-day explorer and a scavenger. A rummage sale, flea market, thrift store junky. I enjoy finding hidden treasures. I love seeing strange and interesting things and making them mine. One spring day, I stopped at a large community thrift store in Adams, about 10 miles from Fort Drum. My eyes fell on two brick-colored blocks. One of them is pictured above. Egyptian? Nauvoo? This coincidence— these objects, apparently important enough to be cast in clay—caught my attention. And their presence started me on a year-long journey to explain the mystery of Nauvoo, New York, a place six miles from my home in the abandoned, forbidden impact area of Fort Drum.

I googled Nauvoo and first learned that it means “beautiful place” in Hebrew. It was also a city in Illinois established by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church. He was killed there in 1844. What was the connection between the two places?

I knew little about the Mormon Church. Something about Salt Lake City in Utah and a Tabernacle Choir. Again, as a modern explorer, I googled the word “Mormon” for my area and found that, indeed, a Mormon place of worship was nearby. The Church of Latter-day Saints existed in Watertown, 20 miles from my home. A place to start. Who were these people whose leader died in a far-off Nauvoo? What would I find? Would the Watertown Mormons be offended by my curiosity? Life is random. Life is unpredictable. Life is strange. But it’s so exciting when looking for something new and unknown. And so I started yet another search.

Copyright@2026 theautonomoustraveler.com All rights reserved