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Proposal for Zion’s City Center from Edward Partridge, circa Late September 1833

Cardinal Directions Page 1 Proposed Plan for Central Squares Page 1 Cardinal Directions Page 2 Original Plan for Central Squares Page 2

Source Note

Edward Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
,
Independence

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Latter-day Saint population...

More Info
, Jackson Co., MO, Proposal for
Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of Zion” for gathering of Saints and place where “City of Zion” was to be built, with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland,...

More Info
’s City Center, ca. late Sept. 1833; retained copy, [ca. late Sept. 1833]; handwriting of
Edward Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
; one page; Edward Partridge Papers, CHL.
One leaf measuring 7⅜ × 12⅛ inches (19 × 31 cm). The document contains two ink drawings—one on each side of the leaf—of the plat for the
city of Zion

Also referred to as New Jerusalem. JS revelation, dated Sept. 1830, prophesied that “city of Zion” would be built among Lamanites (American Indians). JS directed Oliver Cowdery and other missionaries preaching among American Indians in Missouri to find location...

More Info
’s two center blocks with dimensions and explanations. This document and others in the collection underwent conservation efforts in the mid-1980s.
This document, along with other papers belonging to
Edward Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
, was in the Partridge family’s possession until at least the mid-1880s, sometime after which it came into the possession of the Church Historian’s Office.
1

See Whitney, “Aaronic Priesthood,” 5–6; Partridge, Genealogical Record, 1; and the full bibliographic entry for the Edward Partridge Papers in the CHL catalog.


Comprehensive Works Cited

Whitney, Orson F. “The Aaronic Priesthood.” Contributor, Apr. 1885, 241–250.

Partridge, Edward, Jr. Genealogical Record. 1878. CHL. MS 1271.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Whitney, “Aaronic Priesthood,” 5–6; Partridge, Genealogical Record, 1; and the full bibliographic entry for the Edward Partridge Papers in the CHL catalog.

    Whitney, Orson F. “The Aaronic Priesthood.” Contributor, Apr. 1885, 241–250.

    Partridge, Edward, Jr. Genealogical Record. 1878. CHL. MS 1271.

Historical Introduction

Over a two-month span, church leaders in
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
received two different sets of plats and plans to be used for laying out the
city of Zion

Also referred to as New Jerusalem. JS revelation, dated Sept. 1830, prophesied that “city of Zion” would be built among Lamanites (American Indians). JS directed Oliver Cowdery and other missionaries preaching among American Indians in Missouri to find location...

More Info
and constructing religious buildings.
1

See Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early June–25 June 1833; Plan of the House of the Lord, between 1 and 25 June 1833; Revised Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early Aug. 1833; and Revised Plan of the House of the Lord, ca. 10 Aug.–ca. 4 Sept. 1833.


Remarking on the need to revise the original patterns,
Oliver Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

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wrote that the first city plat was “incorrect, being drawn in haste.”
2

Revised Plan of the House of the Lord, ca. 10 Aug.–ca. 4 Sept. 1833.


Frederick G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

View Full Bio
redrew the plat and, apparently at JS’s direction, sent the revised version to Missouri with two messengers,
Orson Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
and
John Gould

21 Dec. 1784–25 June 1855. Pastor, farmer. Born in New Hampshire. Married first Oliva Swanson of Massachusetts. Resided at Portsmouth, Rockingham Co., New Hampshire, 1808. Lived in Vermont. Moved to northern Pennsylvania, 1817. Served as minister in Freewill...

View Full Bio
, who left
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
, Ohio, between 18 August and 4 September and arrived in
Jackson County

Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. president Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...

More Info
, Missouri, in late September.
3

Revised Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early Aug. 1833; Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 18 Aug. 1833; Letter to Vienna Jaques, 4 Sept. 1833. Orson Hyde later wrote that he and Gould had been directed by JS to travel to Jackson County “with special instructions to the Saints there. . . . We arrived in Jackson County about the beginning of the Saints’ troubles there.” According to Newel Knight’s history, Hyde and Gould arrived in “the latter part of September” with “counsel and instruction from brother Joseph, so that they might help us in our unpleasant circumstances.” (“History of Orson Hyde,” 12, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL; Knight, History, 439–440.)


Comprehensive Works Cited

Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

Knight, Newel. History. Private possession. Copy in CHL. MS 19156.

In the document featured here,
Bishop

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

View Glossary
Edward Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
proposed a further modification to the revised plat by rearranging the twenty-four temples in the city’s two central blocks.
To
Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
,
Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

View Full Bio
’s remark that the first version of the city plat was incorrect may have suggested that further modifications, particularly to the plat, were welcome. Even though the original explanation of the plan of the House of the Lord sent in June 1833 stated that “the plot for the City and the size form and dime[n]sions of the house were given us of the Lord,”
4

Plan of the House of the Lord, between 1 and 25 June 1833.


Partridge apparently thought that the arrangement of central temple blocks on the revised version “was not by revelation.” His suggested alterations adjusted the positions of the temples to create more equal spacing between the buildings on each square. On the revised plat sent to
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
in August 1833, the temples were set back four rods (sixty-six feet) from the street on the north and south sides and two rods (thirty-three feet) back on the east and west sides.
5

A rod is equal to 16½ feet.


The revised plat also called for a four-rod (sixty-six-foot) separation between the east and west ends of the respective buildings and a ten-rod (165-foot) separation between the north and south ends of the buildings. Partridge, on the other hand, suggested a four-rod (sixty-six-foot) setback between the buildings and the streets on all sides. He rearranged the temple rows and reconfigured the buildings within the temple blocks so that there were three temples across and four down, rather than four across and three down. He additionally proposed putting a space of “between 6 & 7 rods” between the middle column of buildings running north and south and the two outside columns of buildings and a separation of 5⅓ rods (846 feet) between each of the rows of buildings that would run west to east.
Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
revised the plat in the aftermath of the late-July riot that pressured church leaders into signing an agreement to leave
Jackson County

Settled at Fort Osage, 1808. County created, 16 Feb. 1825; organized 1826. Named after U.S. president Andrew Jackson. Featured fertile lands along Missouri River and was Santa Fe Trail departure point, which attracted immigrants to area. Area of county reduced...

More Info
,
6

See Letter from John Whitmer, 29 July 1833.


which suggests he believed JS’s promise, made in a letter Partridge received in September along with the revised plat, that God “will spedily deliver
Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

View Glossary
” and that “you shall [be] deliverd from you[r] dainger and shall again flurish in spite of hell.”
7

Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 18 Aug. 1833.


However, by mid-November Partridge and many church members had been forced to leave Jackson County and relocate to
Clay County

Settled ca. 1800. Organized from Ray Co., 1822. Original size diminished when land was taken to create several surrounding counties. Liberty designated county seat, 1822. Population in 1830 about 5,000; in 1836 about 8,500; and in 1840 about 8,300. Refuge...

More Info
, Missouri, a move that indefinitely suspended any building plans for the
Church of Christ

The Book of Mormon related that when Christ set up his church in the Americas, “they which were baptized in the name of Jesus, were called the church of Christ.” The first name used to denote the church JS organized on 6 April 1830 was “the Church of Christ...

View Glossary
’s
city of Zion

Also referred to as New Jerusalem. JS revelation, dated Sept. 1830, prophesied that “city of Zion” would be built among Lamanites (American Indians). JS directed Oliver Cowdery and other missionaries preaching among American Indians in Missouri to find location...

More Info
.
8

See Letter from William W. Phelps, 6–7 Nov. 1833; Letter from Edward Partridge, between 14 and 19 Nov. 1833; and Historical Introduction to Letter, 30 Oct. 1833.


Given that
Frederick G. Williams

28 Oct. 1787–10 Oct. 1842. Ship’s pilot, teacher, physician, justice of the peace. Born at Suffield, Hartford Co., Connecticut. Son of William Wheeler Williams and Ruth Granger. Moved to Newburg, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 1799. Practiced Thomsonian botanical system...

View Full Bio
drew both of the plat maps sent to
Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Latter-day Saint ...

More Info
and that JS responded to an earlier query from
Partridge

27 Aug. 1793–27 May 1840. Hatter. Born at Pittsfield, Berkshire Co., Massachusetts. Son of William Partridge and Jemima Bidwell. Moved to Painesville, Geauga Co., Ohio. Married Lydia Clisbee, 22 Aug. 1819, at Painesville. Initially a Universal Restorationist...

View Full Bio
relative to the plat,
9

Letter to Vienna Jaques, 4 Sept. 1833.


Partridge could have addressed the document to either Williams or JS or to the entire
presidency of the high priesthood

Both the office of the president of the high priesthood and the body comprising the president and his counselors; the presiding body of the church. In November 1831, a revelation directed the appointment of a president of the high priesthood. The individual...

View Glossary
. If Partridge finished these revisions by the end of September, he could have sent them to
Kirtland

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Latter-day Saint missionaries visited township, early Nov. 1830; many residents joined Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and...

More Info
before the renewal of violence in Missouri. If he chose not to trust the mail with this sensitive document, he may have sent it to Kirtland with
Hyde

8 Jan. 1805–28 Nov. 1878. Laborer, clerk, storekeeper, teacher, editor, businessman, lawyer, judge. Born at Oxford, New Haven Co., Connecticut. Son of Nathan Hyde and Sally Thorpe. Moved to Derby, New Haven Co., 1812. Moved to Kirtland, Geauga Co., Ohio, ...

View Full Bio
and
Gould

21 Dec. 1784–25 June 1855. Pastor, farmer. Born in New Hampshire. Married first Oliva Swanson of Massachusetts. Resided at Portsmouth, Rockingham Co., New Hampshire, 1808. Lived in Vermont. Moved to northern Pennsylvania, 1817. Served as minister in Freewill...

View Full Bio
in November.
10

“The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 118; JS, Journal, 25 Nov. 1833.


Comprehensive Works Cited

The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

However, no evidence confirms that JS or Williams received this document. The extant version of the revised plan and explanation was one retained by Partridge, and whether it is a copy or the original is not known.
In the presentation that follows, images of individual blocks appear next to their corresponding transcripts. Any text that was written sideways on the document is transcribed as being right side up. Images are oriented with the north side up, as in the original document.

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    See Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early June–25 June 1833; Plan of the House of the Lord, between 1 and 25 June 1833; Revised Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early Aug. 1833; and Revised Plan of the House of the Lord, ca. 10 Aug.–ca. 4 Sept. 1833.

  2. [2]

    Revised Plan of the House of the Lord, ca. 10 Aug.–ca. 4 Sept. 1833.

  3. [3]

    Revised Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early Aug. 1833; Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 18 Aug. 1833; Letter to Vienna Jaques, 4 Sept. 1833. Orson Hyde later wrote that he and Gould had been directed by JS to travel to Jackson County “with special instructions to the Saints there. . . . We arrived in Jackson County about the beginning of the Saints’ troubles there.” According to Newel Knight’s history, Hyde and Gould arrived in “the latter part of September” with “counsel and instruction from brother Joseph, so that they might help us in our unpleasant circumstances.” (“History of Orson Hyde,” 12, Historian’s Office, Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861, CHL; Knight, History, 439–440.)

    Historian’s Office. Histories of the Twelve, 1856–1858, 1861. CHL. CR 100 93.

    Knight, Newel. History. Private possession. Copy in CHL. MS 19156.

  4. [4]

    Plan of the House of the Lord, between 1 and 25 June 1833.

  5. [5]

    A rod is equal to 16½ feet.

  6. [6]

    See Letter from John Whitmer, 29 July 1833.

  7. [7]

    Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson Co., MO, 18 Aug. 1833.

  8. [8]

    See Letter from William W. Phelps, 6–7 Nov. 1833; Letter from Edward Partridge, between 14 and 19 Nov. 1833; and Historical Introduction to Letter, 30 Oct. 1833.

  9. [9]

    Letter to Vienna Jaques, 4 Sept. 1833.

  10. [10]

    “The Outrage in Jackson County, Missouri,” The Evening and the Morning Star, Dec. 1833, 118; JS, Journal, 25 Nov. 1833.

    The Evening and the Morning Star. Independence, MO, June 1832–July 1833; Kirtland, OH, Dec. 1833–Sept. 1834.

Page [1]

I have marked out the 2 squares below & also the 24 buildings. I have arranged them so as to leave the spaces between them more equal, and according to the natural judgment of man would be preferable to the arrangement on the plat <​you sent you,​>— Thinking perhaps that their arrangement was not by revelation, and that also that you had not seen them platted out has induced me to plat them this way for you to view & reflect upon
1

By rearranging the twenty-four temples in Zion’s central squares so that there would be three temples across and four down, rather than four across and three down, Partridge was able to “leave the spaces between them more equal.” His proposal required him to renumber the temples, but he placed the temple labeled “1” in the southwest corner of the center block, the same location where the first temple appears in the Revised Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early Aug. 1833.


Cardinal Directions
2

These cardinal directions appear, respectively, on the left, bottom, and right of the page.


West
South
East
Proposed Plan for Central Squares
101112
 
789
 
456
 
123
 
4222324rods 4
5⅓
19between 6 & 7 rods20between 6 & 7 rods21
5⅓
161718
5⅓
131415
4 rods
If the plan on this s[page torn]
3

TEXT: Possibly “side”.


should be considered preferable to the other perhaps it would be wisdom to set the buildings [page torn]rer
4

Probably “nearer”.


the streets than what they are marked
5

Even though it provided an extra twenty feet of end-to-end space between the temples, Partridge’s three-across, four-down arrangement still managed to allow a generous four-rod (sixty-six-foot) border between the temples and the streets. Partridge is here suggesting that even more space between the buildings could be gained by reducing that border. The revised plat of the city of Zion called for only a two-rod (thirty-three-foot) separation between the temples and the streets on the east and west sides of the two temple blocks. (See Revised Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early Aug. 1833.)


[p. [1]]
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Source Note

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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Proposal for Zion’s City Center from Edward Partridge, circa Late September 1833
ID #
4137
Total Pages
2
Print Volume Location
JSP, D3:308–313
Handwriting on This Page
  • Edward Partridge

Footnotes

  1. [1]

    By rearranging the twenty-four temples in Zion’s central squares so that there would be three temples across and four down, rather than four across and three down, Partridge was able to “leave the spaces between them more equal.” His proposal required him to renumber the temples, but he placed the temple labeled “1” in the southwest corner of the center block, the same location where the first temple appears in the Revised Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early Aug. 1833.

  2. [2]

    These cardinal directions appear, respectively, on the left, bottom, and right of the page.

  3. [3]

    TEXT: Possibly “side”.

  4. [4]

    Probably “nearer”.

  5. [5]

    Even though it provided an extra twenty feet of end-to-end space between the temples, Partridge’s three-across, four-down arrangement still managed to allow a generous four-rod (sixty-six-foot) border between the temples and the streets. Partridge is here suggesting that even more space between the buildings could be gained by reducing that border. The revised plat of the city of Zion called for only a two-rod (thirty-three-foot) separation between the temples and the streets on the east and west sides of the two temple blocks. (See Revised Plat of the City of Zion, ca. Early Aug. 1833.)

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