About Us

Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation supports preserving and sharing Community of Christ historic sites with present and future generations.

The Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in the state of Missouri and sponsored by Community of Christ to support historic sites owned by the church.

The Foundation helps to preserve and share Community of Christ history, especially as it relates to the historic properties located across the Midwest.

Community of Christ historic sites include the Kirtland Temple (Kirtland, Ohio), the Joseph Smith Historic Site (Nauvoo, Illinois), Plano Stone Church (Plano, Illinois), Joseph Smith III's Liberty Hall (Lamoni, Iowa), and Heritage Plaza (Independence, Missouri). 

Our Current Board & Staff

The Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation has a 15-member volunteer Board of Directors, including our president, vice president and secretary/treasurer.

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Our Mission

The Board of Directors enthusiastically adopted the following mission statement:

Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation supports preserving and sharing Community of Christ historic sites with present and future generations.

Our Goals

The goals of the Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation are to:

• Raise funds and resources for the preservation and development of Community of Christ Historic Sites.
• Assist in the acquisition of appropriate artifacts for use at these sites.
• Raise awareness of the benefits and needs of the Historic Sites.
• Recruit volunteers for the Historic Sites, for guiding, site maintenance, and other ongoing needs.
• Advise Historic Sites staff on matters including:
  * Development, preservation, and maintenance of historic properties.
  * Policies and procedures.
  * Interpretation and the development of education programs.

Our History

The Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation began with a dream of Russell Pearson who oversaw real estate properties within the office of the Presiding Bishopric.

Bishop Pearson hoped that by establishing a not-for-profit group to support Church-owned historic properties, more of the Church’s members and friends would want to visit these sacred sites on a “Restoration Trail” as they explored the history of the Restoration.

The predecessor of the current Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation was incorporated in 1970 as the Restoration Trail Foundation (RTF). In the following year, the Internal Revenue Service granted RTF 501(c)(3) tax exempt status.

In 2007, the Foundation changed its name from Restoration Trail Foundation to Community of Christ Historic Sites Foundation to reflect the new name of the Church as well as to communicate more clearly its purpose and mission.

While the oversight of Community of Christ owned historic sites and the management structure of the Foundation have gone through many changes since RTF was established in 1970, the original vision of the group has remained unchanged.

Currently the historic properties are managed on a day-to-day basis by employees or volunteers of the Church, although Foundation board and staff have always been encouraged to share their gifts and talents at the sites.

Together the Church’s historic sites staff and representatives of the Foundation work side by side to preserve the Church’s historic properties and share their sacred stories.

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Help Preserve the Historic Sites

We invite you to make a generous donation towards preserving the treasured historic sites for future generations.

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