Joseph Smith Birthplace, Vermont

The farm where Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka the Mormons) was born, in 1805, was located on this hillside in South Royalton. The site is now one of more than a dozen historic sites owned by the LDS Church, and is a pilgrimage site for Mormons. On site is a church, visitor center, exhibits about his life, and a 38.5 foot tall granite monument, one foot for each of the years he lived. Smith moved with his family to the town of Palmyra in western New York, when he was 11, and there, at 18 years of age, he was visited by an angel named Moroni, who told him about the golden tablets he would later dig up and transcribe into scripture. The church Smith then founded with six people in 1830 now has over 14 million members.