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Carthage Jail Visitors Center

Metzger Johnson was the architect. Carthage Jail is the site where Mormon leader, Joseph Smith, and his brother, Hyrum, were martyred on June 27, 1844. An angry mob, with disguised faces and guns, attacked the jail, immediately killing Hyrum. Joseph was shot twice in the back and twice in the chest as he fell from the second story upper bedroom.

This “old jail” was originally built in 1839. Constructed of native yellow limestone, the two-story building housed a debtors’ room on the first floor, a “criminal cell” on the second floor as well as a living area for the jailer’s family.

In 1903 the Mormon Church purchased the jail as a monument to their founder. In 1989 the jail was restored to its original appearance and the visitor’s center was enlarged to include a theater and exhibit area.

The project included extensive site work, including parking, ornamental fencing and a brick plaza leading to the visitors center.