About 30 miles from Nauvoo, Illinois, is a small settlement in Hancock County called Tioga. Originally, it was named after its most prominent citizen, Isaac Morley. It came to be known as both Morley’s Settlement and Yelrome (Morley spelled backward).
Morley’s Settlement was occupied from 1839-1846 with a peak population of 400-500 Mormon settlers. Their farms and fences spread out over a mile. The Prophet Joseph Smith visited and preached here periodically. Eliza R. Snow, a well-known poetess, lived here for a short time.
Morley had a barrel shop, and he sold some of those barrels in Quincy, Illinois, 29 miles to the south.
In 1845, about a year after Smith's death, local residents of Hancock and Adams counties began to clash with the Mormons. The harassment included the burning of homes and farms. Edmund Durfee, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was shot and killed by a mob. The Saints subsequently fled to Nauvoo for safety.
From that time, Morley’s Settlement basically ceased to exist. Durfee’s killers were identified and arrested but never brought to trial.
According to some sources, present-day Tioga has a population of about 1,700 people. The historical marker/interpretive panel seen here was placed at the site in 1997. It reviews the brief history of this unincorporated town when it was Morley’s Settlement during and just after the days of the Prophet Joseph.