In a discourse dated August 13, 1843 as reported by Willard Richards, we read that
Joseph.
as Mayor inst[r]ucted the marshall. to keep the Ladies camp ground clear of
young men.
the
city is enlarging. very fast. we have so many learned men in this city. &
the height of knowledge is not to know enough to keep out out of the way. I
have been feretted feretting out Grog. shops. groceries & beer
barrels
In a footnote to the above, we
read the following:
Grog shop and grocery were colloquial
terms for unlicensed establishments that sold spirits, or alcoholic beverages,
by the glass; the term beer barrel was slang for a drunkard. Nauvoo city
law prohibited the sale of spirituous liquors in small quantities (that is, by
the glass) unless recommended by a physician. For a short period, the Nauvoo
City Council licensed sellers to dispense some vinous liquors and beer, but the
council repealed those ordinances in May 1842. Though the public consumption of
alcohol was discouraged, neither production nor home consumption was prohibited
by law. On 7 March 1843, for example, Theodore Turley was permitted to open a
brewery at the corner of Hyde and Water Streets. . . . (The Joseph Smith
Papers, Documents Volume 13: August-December 1843, ed. Christian K. Heimburger
et al. [Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2022], 42 n. 255)