The Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri is owned by the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), a small Latter Day Saint denomination sometimes called the Hedrickites. The church holds exclusive legal title to roughly two and a half acres near the Jackson County Courthouse, and that parcel contains the specific ground Joseph Smith designated in August 1831 as the site of a future temple.1The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Questions and Answers About the Temple Lot in Independence
How the Church of Christ Came to Hold the Deed
Bishop Edward Partridge bought about 63 acres from Jones H. Flournoy on December 19, 1831, to gather early Latter Day Saint settlers around Independence.2The Joseph Smith Papers. Temple Lot, Blue Township, Jackson County, Missouri The Saints were driven out of Jackson County by 1833, and over the next several decades the land passed through tax sales and private transfers. By the late 1840s none of it remained in Latter Day Saint hands.
Granville Hedrick led a small independent branch of the movement, and his followers considered an 1864 revelation a directive to return to Independence. Members began relocating in 1867. In November 1869 Hedrick bought three lots in the Woodson and Maxwell Addition for $750 on behalf of the Church of Christ. Four more lots were acquired in November 1877 for $425, and a small triangular strip was added in 1906 for $75.3Brigham Young University – Idaho. Arthur M Smith Temple Lot Deed Those eight contiguous lots form the parcel the church still holds.
Title sits with the organization itself, not any individual member. The Church of Christ operates as a religious nonprofit corporation under Missouri law, which allows it to hold real property through a board of trustees.4Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 355.025 – Purposes for Which Organized That corporate shell handles property taxes, liability coverage, and the ordinary obligations of ownership. The denomination is small, headquartered on the lot itself, with membership estimated at only a few thousand.
The Court Fight That Settled Title
The most serious challenge came in the 1890s. The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now the Community of Christ, filed a quiet-title action arguing it was the rightful legal successor to the original 1830s owners and that the Church of Christ was wrongfully occupying the land.5Wikipedia. Temple Lot Case The court had to weigh competing claims of spiritual succession alongside ordinary property law.
At trial, Judge John F. Philips of the U.S. Circuit Court ruled for the Reorganized Church, declaring it the legal successor to the original organization and confirming its title.6Latter Day Truth. Decision of John F. Philips, Judge, in Temple Lot Case The 1894 decision looked like a decisive loss for the Church of Christ.
It did not stand. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed, applying the doctrine of laches, which bars a claim when the party bringing it waited unreasonably long to act. The Reorganized Church had known about the Church of Christ’s possession of the lot for decades before suing, and the appellate court found that delay fatal. Because the Church of Christ had openly occupied and maintained the property throughout that period, its title stood. That mid-1890s appellate ruling remains the definitive legal resolution of ownership, and no later challenge has disturbed it.
What Sits on the Lot Today
The dedicated temple site is a rectangle measuring roughly 300 feet by 200 feet, and it holds nothing but grass, a few trees, six small stone markers, and a sign.1The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Questions and Answers About the Temple Lot in Independence No temple has ever been built on the ground Smith identified. The closest structure is a meetinghouse owned by the Church of Christ, adjacent to the open lot, which serves as both a place of worship and the denomination’s headquarters. The Church of Christ has said it believes a temple will eventually rise on the site, but no construction plans are currently underway.
The Neighboring Properties Are Owned by Different Denominations
Partridge’s original 63-acre purchase is now divided among three Latter Day Saint denominations, and it helps to be clear about which group owns what. The Community of Christ owns the largest share of the original acreage and runs its international headquarters there, including the spiral-shaped Community of Christ Temple and a large auditorium.7Community of Christ. International Headquarters The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns the next-largest portion and operates the Independence Visitors’ Center at 937 W. Walnut Street.8The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Independence Visitors’ Center Neither of those organizations owns the Temple Lot itself. The specific parcel Smith designated belongs to the Church of Christ (Temple Lot), the smallest of the three, and has for more than 150 years.1The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Questions and Answers About the Temple Lot in Independence