Grand Army of the Republic

The Memorial Hall was constructed in 1878 with funds raised by the citizens of Aurora. It was built as a monument to Aurora’s Civil War Veterans and a shrine to the memory of those who died in the conflict. But it also served as a meeting hall for the Post 20 veterans and, until the early 1900s, as Aurora’s first free public library.

Patterned closely on an existing G.A.R. hall in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the Aurora Hall was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Aurora architect Joseph P. Mulvey. It was constructed of rock-faced, ashlar-laid limestone, quarried at a nearby site in Aurora. The original GAR building consisted only of the octagonal part of the structure we see today. In 1885 a two story addition, also designed by Mulvey, was added at the southwest corner of the original building. This served as additional library and meeting space and at times as a banquet space.

The stair tower, which provided access between the two buildings, was added in 1904-1906. At this time, as well, the original octagonal building was raised to provide a full basement area. In 1963 the addition was demolished, leaving the original octagonal hall and the stair tower. In 1964 the Hall was purchased by the City of Aurora and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

2016 Restoration Update

The City of Aurora has received 2 grants to support the current phase of the GAR restoration. The city received a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for $200,000 to go toward the design and fabrication of display cases. The City also received a grant from the Kane County Riverboat Fund for $46,000 to fund a portion of the display cases.

How You Can Help 

You can donate to APAC’s GAR restoration effort by:

• Calling Aurora’s Customer Service Center at 630-256-INFO or the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley at 630-896-7800

• Going online to the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley’s website

• Sending a check or money order to the Aurora Public Art Commission Fund:
  Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley
  111 W Downer Place
  Aurora, IL 60506 

About Memorial Hall 

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Memorial Hall, Post 20 is one of Aurora's most beloved landmarks. Since its earliest days, it has stood as a symbol of public and private partnership and cooperation. It was constructed in 1878, with funds raised by the citizens of Aurora, many of whom had fought in the Civil War. Their intention was to create a sacred monument to Aurora's Civil War Veterans and a shrine to their fallen comrades; men who had died in the cause of preserving the union and ending slavery.

It would also serve as a veterans' meeting hall and as Aurora's first free public library. Over the course of 60 years Post 20 boasted a membership of more than 600 Civil War Veterans, representing 70 Illinois regiments. By 1939, however, membership was dwindling so Daniel Wedge, a past commander, organized the GAR Memorial Association. The Association continued to hold meetings in the hall until the late 1990s, when the city was forced to close it due to structural problems.

Late History of Post 20

Over the course of 60 years Aurora Post 20 boasted a membership of more than 700 Civil War veterans, representing 70 Illinois regiments. By 1939, however, membership was dwindling, and Daniel Wedge, a past commander of Post 20 organized the GAR Memorial Association which would serve as a successor organization to keep alive the traditions and memory of the G.A.R.. Wedge passed away in 1947 on his 106th birthday, the last surviving member of Post 20.

The GAR Memorial Association, which consists of descendants of Post 20, still exists to this day.The Association continued to hold meetings in the hall until the late 1990s, when the city was forced to close it due to structural problems. The last public event held at the Hall was a celebration of Millenium Eve on December 31, 1999/January 1, 2000.

2000-2007

The City’s GAR Memorial Hall Commission was instituted in 1999 to provide community input to the process of restoring the Hall and clarifying its mission and its place in the community and its history. Historical preservation architects and consultants were enlisted in the effort to survey the current condition of the building and determine the nature and extent of the preservation and restoration project.

2007

The City of Aurora began the restoration of GAR, Post 20. The foundation, walls and roof were stabilized, most of the exterior was completed, and a carefully designed addition was added to provide for modern utilities and access. This phase was largely funded by the City of Aurora. In 2008, a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation/American Express provided for restoration of the stained-glass windows, and construction of new stained-glass panels to replicate the original windows that were lost in a 1904 renovation. In addition, the city also received a Kane County Riverboat grant of $50,000, and a grant of $100,000 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

2009

Restoration of the GAR came to halt due to the faltering economy. This left some of the final exterior work unfinished, and all plans for interior work were put aside.

2011

The restoration of the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum, Post 20 resumed in April of 2011, thanks to a grant of $250,000 from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and an additional $95,000 from the City of Aurora. This work included both exterior and interior finishes, such as structural and electrical work, wall and ceiling painting, floor refinishing and masonry repair, and stairway and woodwork restoration. It was necessary to complete the majority of the work to allow for public access. Once the restoration was complete, the Commission planned to open the hall as a museum and center for veterans, for genealogical research, and as an educational venue about Aurora's role in America's wars.

GAR Museum Newsletter April 2024(PDF, 772KB)

GAR Museum Newsletter April 2024 Spanish(PDF, 790KB)

GAR Museum Newsletter June 2023(PDF, 883KB)

GAR Museum Newsletter June 2023 Spanish(PDF, 889KB)

GAR Museum Newsletter March 2023(PDF, 745KB)

GAR Museum Newsletter March 2023 Spanish(PDF, 753KB)

Click here to view form.

Aurora’s Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Hall was opened on July 4, 1878, as a meeting space for and a tribute to Union soldiers following the Civil War. The Hall was funded by donations from Aurora's residents and the land was donated by Joseph Stolp, and it housed the only public library in the city until 1903. The octagonal limestone building sits at 23 E. Downer Place.

The GAR Hall was later turned into a museum of Aurora's involvement in the Civil War, but was closed in the 1990s after the building's foundation was deemed structurally unsafe.

Following the closure of the GAR Hall, when the building's foundation was deemed unstable, work began to rehabilitate the physical structure of the building. The $2.7 million project shored up the foundation for the long term and also included work to preserve the limestone exterior of the building. Once the structure was stable, more detailed restoration work could proceed.

This phase resulted in the completion of the Angel Room and the creation of our permanent exhibit about Aurora’s contribution to the American Civil War. Trim work, flooring, painting, electrical work, and lighting were included in the scope of work. In addition, two restrooms and an operational elevator were added to the south end of the building. Finally, the original bookcases from the public library were replicated and installed to display artifacts from the museum’s collection.

The project consisted of two main scopes of work. The exhibit design, fabrication, and signage portion totaled approximately $300,000. Two grants, totaling $246,000, covered majority of the work. The interior restoration, funded entirely by the City of Aurora, cost approximately $140,000.

The first of two main scopes, designing and building the display cabinets, started in July 2015. Bluestone and Associates, located in Evanston, were contracted in June 2015 to complete this scope. Interior restoration began in March 2015. On May 30, 2016, the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall reopened to the public. Several additional projects were completed after the reopening: In 2022, the fresco paintings in the Angel Room were restored and the recast “Lone Sentry” statue was reinstalled on the roof.

Civil War medals, weapons, photographs, flags and letters sent from the front lines home to Aurora have been on display at the GAR Museum in interactive exhibits that focus on the men and women from our area who fought to preserve the Union. The museum has about 1,300 artifacts in its collection, along with more than 6000 records and other historical resources. While a number of the artifacts and records date from the Civil War period, the collection includes artifacts and materials related to virtually all of America’s wars and conflicts from the War of 1812 to the present. The museum has also hosted re-enactments of Civil War-era dances, music, and cultural activities and has featured exhibits related to the experience of Aurora veterans, and the home front, in several war periods.

The Grand Army of the Republic, a Union veteran association founded in Decatur, Il in 1866, was the most important Civil War veteran organization, with over 490,000 members nation-wide at its height in 1892. Five presidents were active members in the organization, and countless elected officials across the nation wore the badge of the G.A.R. In Aurora, Post No. 20 became a pillar of the community, demonstrating the core values of the G.A.R.: Charity, Fraternity, and Loyalty. Nationally, the G.A.R. was a powerful presence in the Republican Party: until early in the 20th century, every Republican elected President had received the endorsement of the G.A.R.

Yes! Four members of Post 20 served as Mayors of Aurora:

• Alexander C. Little (1874)
• Fred Otis White (1885)
• Theodore Howard (1899)
• Henry B. Douglas (1905)

Captain Joseph H. Freeman: Lifelong educator, serving as the Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction 1898-1900. Chair of the Local Board for the City of Aurora (draft board) during World War 1. Freeman Elementary school is named in his honor.

As the members of Post No. 20 became memories, the last surviving Civil War veteran of Aurora, Daniel Augustus Wedge, created the G.A.R. Memorial Association in 1939 with the purpose to care for the building and honor all of Aurora’s military veterans. Today, the G.A.R. Military Museum proudly recognizes the contributions and sacrifices of our community and ensure their memories are not forgotten.

Recognizing that the GAR Hall had significance for the entire Aurora community, and that its preservation was an important municipal priority, the City of Aurora purchased the building in 1964. The GAR Memorial Association continued to use the building until 1999, at which time it was necessary to close the building to the public to begin stabilization and restoration of the structure. At that time, the City created the GAR Memorial Hall Commission to provide citizen input to the restoration project, and, today, the ongoing public programming of the Hall.

The statue of “The Lone Sentry” was added in the early 1880s, a few years after the original hall was completed. It was a stock figure that was used in many communities for memorials and, although it was finished in a bronze color, it was in fact made of “spelter,” an inexpensive zinc alloy. By the time the hall was restored, the statue had weathered badly and had been the subjected to various attempts to repair it. In 2008 the statue was removed and evaluated for conservation. It was determined that it was too deteriorated to be restored for outdoor display. Therefore, a replica was cast in bronze and was reinstalled on the rooftop drum on November 10, 2022. The original statue was conserved and will be displayed in the lower level of the museum.

When the statue was originally installed there was a debate among the Post 20 members as to how it should be oriented. Some advocated for having the statue face to the south, to be on the lookout for any future threat from the heirs of the Confederacy. It was finally decided to have it face north, toward the center of town as a constant reminder to the citizens of Aurora that “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”

In addition to the artifact collection, the Museum holds approximately 6000 historical records of various kinds, including letters from serving soldiers and veterans, the records of Post 20, and published materials related to Aurora veterans and Illinois regiments. At this time, many of the paper records have not yet been transcribed or digitized. Those that have been processed are accessible through the Museum’s record system. Requests for access to Museum research resources should be directed to Eric Pry, PryE@aurora.il.us, (630) 256-3348.

The tablets around the walls of the “Angel Room” display the names of those from the Aurora area who served in the Union Army in the Civil War, and names of those who gave their lives in the conflict. From ancient times onward, memorials to war dead have included a feature called a “Cenotaph,” which means “empty tomb.” The cenotaph honors those who are buried at other locations, or whose final resting place is unknown. In our GAR Memorial Hall, the recording angel is facing a blank tablet and recording the names of the unknown dead—this is the “cenotaph” of our memorial.