Never! The population of Nauvoo has never been 45,000. At the
height of the Mormon population there in 1844, there were about
12,000 Mormons. Recent stastics show just over 1,000 people live
there today.
View page
the mormons
View page
Nauvoo is located right on the Mississippi River. Freezing
weather was an advantage to the Mormons as they left westward
because it meant they could simply walk across the frozen river
rather than use a ferry.