The History of Nauvoo Saints Peter and Paul High School
Nauvoo (populaion 1,063) is located on Illinois Route 9 in upper-western Illinois.
The town is located on the banks of the Mississippi River in far western Hancock County. Nauvoo is located about
35 miles west of Macomb. The town was platted in 1835 and originally named Commerce. In 1839 Joseph Smith and the
Latter Day Saints moved into town and set off a population explosion. The town was renamed Nauvoo (which literally means
"beautiful location") and quickly spread its wings. By 1845-46 Nauvoo had an estimated population of
15 - 20 THOUSAND residents. This would have made Nauvoo Illinois' largest city of that time and, in fact, one of
the 20 largest cities in the United States. Events soon occurred which led to the steady decline over many years of
Nauvoo's population. Nauvoo is still quite a tourist attraction with many historic sites and places to visit. For
an entertaining and informative look at Nauvoo go to www.nauvoo.net or www.visitnauvoo.org/.
According to the official website of Sts. Peter & Paul Parish http://www.stspeterpaul.org/, the history of the church and school are as follows:
"In 1874, the Benedictine Sisters arrived in Nauvoo opening the first school. The first school was
purchased in 1918. This remained the educational facility until 1962 when we made our move to our newly built present
building, housing grades 1-8."
The site does not mention the former high school housed in the original Sts. Peter & Paul School building.
The former Sts. Peter and Paul High school building has been demolished. Our guess is that the high school portion of the
school closed in the late1940s to early 1950s. The parish still supports a grade school for grades PK - 6.
Nauvoo Saints Peter and Paul High School Quick Facts
Year opened: late
1800s
Year closed: 1950s?
School team nickname: unavailable
School team colors: unavailable
School Fight Song: unavailable
