The hand of the Lord can be seen in all aspects of the restoration. Evidence of the Lord’s influence is shown in the many people who came to know Joseph and supported him. Harmony, Pennsylvania and Colesville, New York, were more than 100 miles away from Joseph’s home in Palmyra, which at that time was at least a full day’s journey, and perhaps two. But despite the distance, people in those two communities became lifelong, faithful members of the Church, and staunch supporters of Joseph’s mission as the Lord’s prophet.
People from Harmony and Colesville will be introduced in later posts. The focus of this post is simply to introduce the geography.
Harmony, Pennsylvania
The community formerly known as Harmony is now known as Susquehanna, Oakland Township. It is currently a driving distance of about 150 miles south-east of Palmyra, New York, but in Joseph’s day, it would have been approximately 120 miles cross country.
The Priesthood Restoration Site operated by the Church is located in Harmony, and the driving directions from the Smith Family Farm to the Priesthood Restoration Site show a driving time of about two and a half hours. In the following map, the green marker is the location of the Smith Family Farm, and the red marker is the location of the Priesthood Restoration Site:
The Priesthood Restoration Site
One of the many historic sites operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Priesthood Restoration Site in Harmony, Pennsylvania. This site includes the home of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, the parents of Emma Hale, Joseph Smith’s wife. Joseph and Emma lived with the Hales for a time, but they eventually had their own house a short distance from Emma’s parents.1 There is a cemetery near the home of Joseph and Emma, where their first child (whom they named Alvin) is buried, and where Emma’s parents are also buried. The homestead is a short walking distance to the Susquehanna River, where Joseph and Oliver were baptized after receiving the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist. These events will be discussed in more detail in later posts.
The following pictures were taken during my family’s trip to the Priesthood Restoration Site in July, 2018. They show the following: (1) a map of New York and Pennsylvania on the wall of the Visitor’s Center; (2) a reconstruction of the home of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, Emma’s parents; (3) a reconstruction of Joseph and Emma’s home; (4) the original headstone of Joseph and Emma’s first son; (5) the new headstone, built over and in front of the original headstone; (6) the path from the Hale homestead, through the woods, to the banks of the Susquehanna River (this wooded area felt very much like the Sacred Grove); (7) the Susquehanna River; (8) a statute of the Savior in the Visitor’s Center (I love how my daughter was feeling his hands, and the reverence in her face as she looked at it).
It should be noted that the homes are “reconstructions,” which means they do not know what the homes looked like, but were built based on common construction of the time. I find it interesting to compare Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Illinois with the reconstruction of the Hale family home:2
Colesville, New York
Colesville was a small community just north of Harmony, across the border into New York. The current name of the community is Ninevah, New York. It is a distance of about 22 miles from Harmony (currently Susquehanna, Oakland Township) to Colesville (currently Ninevah), which is a drive time of about 30 minutes. This site is not owned or operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but is free and open to the public.
The following map shows many of the Church historic sites in New York and Pennsylvania.3 Number 3 the home where Joseph and Emma lived at the current Priesthood Restoration Site. Number 2 is Colesville, the current site of the Joseph Knight Sr. home. Number 1 is South Bainbridge, the current site of the Josiah Stowell home.
The historical site to visit in Colesville is the Joseph Knight Sr. home, with an address in Nineveh, New York. Joseph Knight Sr. played a significant role in the restoration, and will be discussed in later posts. These photos are from my family’s trip in July, 2018:
South Bainbridge, New York
The historical site in South Bainbridge is the Josiah Stowell home, with a current address of Afton, New York. This is not far from the Joseph Knight Sr. home, and when we visited it, I believed it was all part of Colesville. They are only about two miles apart, which is about a three minute drive. More will be said of Josiah Stowell, but his home is likely where Joseph and Emma were married:
The geography is significant
It is fascinating to me that people in Colesville, Harmony, and South Bainbridge played such a significant role in Joseph’s life. The distance at that time was remarkable, and it would have been unlikely for the lives of these individuals to become so intertwined without the influence of the Lord. Josiah Stowell, Joseph Knight, Sr., and Emma Hale played such a significant role in Joseph’s life that it seems clear to me that it was by divine providence that they met.
References
- “Priesthood Restoration Site,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/locations/priesthood-restoration-site; see also Steven E. Snow, “Joseph Smith in Harmony,” Ensign, September 2015, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2015/09/joseph-smith-in-harmony?lang=eng.
- “Abraham Lincoln House,” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abraham_Lincoln_House.jpg.
- Church History Maps, “The New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio Area of the USA,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/history-maps/map-3?lang=eng.
- Ensign Peak Foundation, “Josiah Stowell Home, Chenango County, New York,” https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/josiah-stowell-home-chenango-county-new-york/.