“The persecution, however, became so intolerable that I was under the necessity of leaving Manchester, and going with my wife to Susquehanna county, in the State of Pennsylvania..” — Joseph Smith Jr.1
The Susquehanna River is the longest river on the Eastern Coast of the United States. It's about 444 miles long and starts in Cooperstown, New York, flowing through Pennsylvania and Maryland before finally emptying into the Chesapeake Bay.2
Isaac and Elizabeth Hale moved to Harmony, Pennsylvania, near the river, because of the possibilities for hunting in the area.3 In 1827, Joseph and Emma moved in with them before moving to a small log cabin home in 1828.4 Most of the Book of Mormon translation took place in Harmony.4 Other important events of the early Church also occurred near the banks of this river, including the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods and the baptisms of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.5
