Field NotesOhio

Historic Kirtland and the Kirtland Temple

Kirtland · Lake County · Northeast Ohio

The first Latter-day Saint temple, and a village of conflict and faith

Headquarters of the early Latter Day Saint movementOpen to people of all faiths

Kirtland Temple, 9020 Chillicothe Rd, Kirtland Directions →Official source →

The village where the Latter Day Saint movement built its first temple, with a story of revelation, dissent and violence.

Years: The movement's headquarters from 1831 to 1838
Temple: The first Latter Day Saint temple, begun in June 1833 and dedicated on March 27, 1836 by Joseph Smith
Village: Historic Kirtland Village: a Whitney store and home, an inn, a sawmill, an ashery and a schoolhouse
Owner: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought the temple from Community of Christ on March 5, 2024
Hiram: In March 1832 a mob tarred and feathered Joseph Smith at the Johnson farm in Hiram, a Buckeye Trail Town

The story

In 1831 Joseph Smith and his followers gathered in Kirtland, in the Western Reserve, and the village became the headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement until 1838. Many of the revelations later collected in the Doctrine and Covenants were received here. The Saints, most of them poor, built the Kirtland Temple with their own labor, from June 1833 to its dedication on March 27, 1836. Many who attended the dedication reported heavenly visions, and the temple remains important to every Latter Day Saint denomination.

The movement was an unpopular religious minority, and its years in Ohio included violence. In March 1832 a mob dragged Joseph Smith from his bed in Hiram and tarred and feathered him; his infant son, who was ill, died that week. In early 1837 the movement's Kirtland Safety Society, a quasi-bank, opened after the state legislature rejected its charter petition. It failed in the summer and fall of 1837 amid the national Panic of 1837, and Smith, who had been its cashier, was fined for running an illegal bank. Many members who lost money left the church, dissenters, including some leaders, were excommunicated that December, and on January 12, 1838 a warrant was issued for Smith's arrest on a banking-fraud charge. He and Sidney Rigdon left Kirtland for Far West, Missouri, and most of the Saints followed. Historians and partisans still disagree about the bank: a BYU Studies article argues its failure was typical of Ohio banks in 1837, critics say the leaders enriched themselves, and the church attributes the dissent to apostasy. Ownership of the temple was contested for decades between two churches descended from the same movement, and the Community of Christ held and ran it until the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bought it in 2024. The church has restored Historic Kirtland Village and the Newel K. Whitney store, where Smith lived for a time, and tours reflect its perspective.

Visiting information you can trust

Content last reviewed: September 2026 — this is when Field Notes Ohio's content was last checked, not a live status.
Primary official source: Official page
Location confidence: Verified entrance or visitor center
Kirtland Temple, 9020 Chillicothe Rd, Kirtland
Check current conditions: Official conditions or closures
Reservations or tickets: Tickets or admission info

Prices, hours, closures, campsite availability and trail conditions shown elsewhere on this page are not live — always confirm with the official source before you go.

The Temple Built in Poverty

The Saints who gathered at Kirtland in the 1830s were poor, and they decided to build a temple anyway. They quarried and hauled and built it themselves, and it stood commandingly atop the hill, as a church history puts it, in their extreme poverty.

They dedicated it in 1836. Within two years the bank they had opened to help their economy had failed, and their leader had left the state.

Behind the legend

The dedication date, the 1832 attack in Hiram and the 2024 ownership transfer are documented by both church sources and Wikipedia. The Kirtland Safety Society's opening, failure, the fine, the December 1837 excommunications and the January 1838 warrant and departure come from Wikipedia, the Church's own teaching manual, the Joseph Smith Papers and History.com. BYU Studies, a critical Christian ministry and a history blog give different readings of the bank's failure, which is why this entry gives the disagreement rather than a verdict.

If you go

Take the tour of the temple and the village, and read the sources of more than one tradition about Kirtland's history.

Visiting

Status

Open; confirm tour times

Managed by

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Hours

Guided tours are given at the temple and in the village; check the church's Historic Sites page for current hours.

Admission

Free.

Phone

See the church's Historic Sites page

Please note

The tours are staffed by missionaries and reflect the church's perspective.

Address

9020 Chillicothe Rd, Kirtland, OH 44094

Official information →Directions Find trails nearby on AllTrails →

Hours and prices change. Confirm with the site before you go.

Parks nearby

North Chagrin Reservation

About 5 miles · Squire's Castle and backcountry camping.

Punderson State Park

About 15 miles · A resort and lake park in Geauga County.

Girdled Road Reservation (Lake Metroparks)

About 10 miles · A free hiker camp on the Buckeye Trail.

Buckeye Trail

Burton Section

57 miles · on or near the Buckeye Trail

Bedford Section

66 miles · on or near the Buckeye Trail

Details last checked 2026-09-22. Confirm hours and prices before you go.

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