Plat of Zion

Plat of Zion
Name	Plat of Zion
Established	1833
Founder	Joseph Smith
Type	Urban plan
Location	Nauvoo, Illinois, United States

Plat of Zion is the urban plan devised in 1833 by Joseph Smith for settlements associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and envisioned as the template for a future theocratic city in the Kingdom of God. The plan combined influences from contemporaneous American grid plan experiments, millenarian expectations following the Second Great Awakening, and biblical models found in texts such as the Book of Isaiah and the Book of Revelation. It became a central reference for early Latter Day Saint movement colonization projects across the United States, Canada, and western United States territories during the 19th century.

Background and origins

The plat emerged during a period of rapid expansion and persecution for the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints)—later known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—after the publication of the Book of Mormon and the founding of the movement in Palmyra, New York. Influences included American urbanists such as Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who designed Washington, D.C., and proponents of the grid plan like planners of Philadelphia and Savannah, Georgia. Messianic expectations tied to the Millennialism currents of the Second Great Awakening and prophetic injunctions from Joseph Smith and associates such as Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery framed the Plat as both a practical and theological blueprint. Early implementations were attempted in Kirtland, Ohio, Jackson County, Missouri, and later in Nauvoo, Illinois, reflecting disputes exemplified by events like the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri.

Design and layout

The Plat incorporated a rectilinear grid plan with large blocks, wide streets, communal public squares, and designated lots for residences, temple sites, and civic buildings. It specified uniform lot sizes and generous setbacks, inspired by models seen in Philadelphia, New Haven, Connecticut, and Greenville, South Carolina, while echoing biblical city imagery from passages associated with Zion (Latter Day Saints). Central to the design was a prominent square intended for a temple complex, resonant with the placement of sacred precincts in Jerusalem and the idealized urbanism promoted by reformers like Robert Owen and Charles Fourier. Streets were oriented to facilitate drainage and movement, comparable in principle to grids used in Salt Lake City and plans later executed by church leaders such as Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball.

Implementation and settlements

Variants of the Plat were applied, adapted, or abandoned in numerous settlements during migrations led by figures including Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, and Wilford Woodruff. The plan informed the layout of Nauvoo, Illinois, portions of Salt Lake City, Utah, and colonial settlements in the Utah Territory, as well as temporary camps during the Mormon Exodus and colonization efforts in Idaho, Arizona, and Mexico. Local conditions, interactions with settlers and indigenous nations such as the Shoshone and Ute people, and territorial legislation like acts passed by the United States Congress influenced practical execution. Disruptions caused by conflicts such as the Utah War and legal pressures exemplified by litigation involving the United States District Court affected the degree to which the Plat was realized.

Religious and social significance

Beyond urban planning, the Plat functioned as a theological statement linking spatial order to eschatological aims articulated by Joseph Smith and later interpreted by leaders including Brigham Young and John Taylor. Designated temple squares and communal areas reinforced ritual practices found in revelations received at sites like Kirtland Temple and Nauvoo Temple, and connected to ordinances central to Latter Day Saint theology. Social organization within Plat-modeled towns reflected teachings on communal welfare promoted by leaders and movements such as the United Order and reforms debated during conferences of the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The layout aimed to promote cohesion among converts from backgrounds linked to places like England, Scotland, Ireland, and Prussia who immigrated under the direction of church-appointed agents.

Criticism and adaptations

Contemporary critics from newspapers such as the Times and Seasons and figures like Orson Pratt and political opponents questioned centralized planning, authoritarian tendencies, and viability in varied terrains. Scholars outside the movement—urbanists referencing Lewis Mumford, historians analyzing the American West, and commentators on the Republican Party era politics—have critiqued the Plat for its utopian rigidity and tensions with market-based land use in places like California and the Great Plains. Adaptations emerged: the grid was loosened in rugged topographies of the Wasatch Range, lot sizes modified in frontier settlements, and hybrid plans developed under civil leaders including territorial governors and municipal planners in Salt Lake City. Legal challenges, immigration patterns, and economic pressures from trade centers like San Francisco and Chicago further shaped revisions.

Legacy and influence

The Plat's principles influenced American urbanism in the 19th century and contributed to the distinctive street patterns of western settlements linked to leaders such as Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball. Its legacy appears in scholarship on utopian planning alongside works addressing Transcendentalism and cooperative experiments such as New Harmony. Historic preservation efforts by institutions including the Historic American Buildings Survey and local historical societies have documented surviving examples in Nauvoo and parts of Salt Lake City. The Plat remains a subject in studies of religiously motivated planning, western migration, and the transformation of landscapes during American expansion under policies debated in sessions of the United States Congress and the administration of presidents from Andrew Jackson to Abraham Lincoln.

Category:Urban planning Category:Latter Day Saint movement