"In about four years after my father’s arrival in Palmyra, he moved with his family into Manchester in the same county of Ontario." — Joseph Smith Jr.1
In 1816, the Smith family relocated to Palmyra, New York, and by late 1818, they had established a log home on 100 acres of wilderness land outside the town.2 Their small log cabin had two floors. The ground floor had two rooms (a kitchen/dining area and a sitting room/master bedroom) and upstairs had an attic room divided into two spaces (likely as sleeping areas for the Smith children).3 Alvin Smith later began building a larger frame home for the family, and it was finished in 1825.4
After extensive work to make the land suitable for farming, the Smith family began growing wheat and other crops for food and income. They also planted fruit trees and used maple trees for syrup.2
In early spring 1820, Joseph Smith Jr. sought answers to his prayers in a nearby grove on the property. Here, Joseph experienced the First Vision and saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.5 Three years later, the angel Moroni visited Joseph Jr. in the small upstairs bedroom of the log cabin.4
Unfortunately, around 1825-1826, economic challenges and crop failures led to more financial difficulties for the Smith family, resulting in the loss of their land.6
