Aurora’s Grand Army of the Republic Museum Open on First Fridays
The newly restored Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum, at 23 E. Downer Place in downtown Aurora, features unique exhibits on the Civil War, the heroic Fox Valley soldiers who fought to preserve our nation, and on everyday life in post-Civil War America.
The GAR Hall, built in 1878 to honor local veterans of the Civil War, is one of the few GAR-specific buildings left standing in the nation.
The museum is open, free, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays; 6 to 8 p.m. for Aurora’s First Friday festivities; and by appointment. Call 630-256-4636 or visit www.aurora-il.org/gar/index.php.
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About the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, Post 20
The GAR Post 20 mission is to preserve, showcase and interpret the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, Post 20, and its artifacts. To celebrate the history of GAR, Post 20 through exhibits and programs.
The Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, Post 20 was built as a memorial for Civil War veterans. On both a national and local scale the GAR was active in pursuing benefits for veterans. The GAR founded soldiers’ homes, worked to provide relief for widows and orphans, and lobbied for pension legislation. Membership was limited to honorably discharged veterans of the Union Army, Navy, Marine Corps or the Revenue Cutter Service who had served between 1861and 1865.
Aurora Post 20 was completed in 1878 for the sum of $7,184.54 These funds had been raised over a period of ten years by the Soldiers Monument Association and the Ladies Monument Association, a group that later became GAR Aurora, Post 20. The proud members of Post 20 were visionaries. The men had fought a long and bloody war for the abolition of slavery and preservation of the Union. Indeed, some had served in nearly every battle of that bloody conflict. In the very heart of a thriving new community they built a monument that would honor their fallen comrades while creating a legacy for the future. The GAR Hall was a sanctuary. It served as a gathering place for men who had fought side by side on the battlefields, it was a shrine to the Union dead, and it was a place of scholarship-Aurora’s first free library.
