Following the death of Alvin, the Joseph Smith Sr. family kept working on the frame home Alvin had begun. Although they never owned it or the farm on which it stood, they occupied the house sometime in 1825, nearly two years after Alvin died.
The Smith family lived there about four years. Most importantly, they were living in that home when the Prophet Joseph took the plates from the Hill Cumorah. Eventually, however, because of various circumstances, the Smiths left the home for good in the spring of 1829.
The second photo in the gallery above shows the home in the 1980s with enhancements made by subsequent owners following the departure of the Smith family. The first photo shows the home after a major restoration project turned the home to the way it would have been when the Smith family lived in it.