Icarian Community in Nauvoo
CITY:
Nauvoo
COUNTY:
Hancock
DEDICATED BY:
Descendants of Icaria and The Illinois State Historical Society
DEDICATION DATE:
January 1, 1975 at 6:00:00 AM
The marker is located on the east side of the parking lot of the Nauvoo Historical Museum, in the Nauvoo State Park, on the east side of Route 96.
A communal society of French Icarians was established at Nauvoo on 1849. Led by Etienne Cabet, a French political theorist, the Icarians believed that all property must be held communally. The community was incorporated by the Illinois General Assembly in early 1851. At that time it had 355 members. They operated their own sawmill and grist mill and a commercial distillery. Disputes later arose over Cabet’s leadership, and the Icarians began to resettle in other states. The Nauvoo community survived, however, until about 1860 – longer than any other secular communal society in Illinois.