Aurora Historical Society

Dec 7th, 2023

This is a two-floor museum which isn't immediately evident (a docent alerted me to the second floor). On the ground floor is a gift shop and special exhibitions; there's an exhibit on the history of Aurora on the second floor.  The ground floor exhibit, on hats and shoes when I was there, was interesting but not particularly well-marked. Do note the extremely fancy grandfather clock in the corner; it is purely mechanical, includes astronomical information, and is apparently accurate for the next 10,000 years (no info next to it but there are brochures in the rack on the hall).A quick elevator ride takes you upstairs, where the exhibit starts with a moccasin and some arrowheads, then through various businesses that started in Aurora with some examples of their wares (a "Thor" motorcycle), reproduction photos of various folks; the occasional piece of everyday life (a 1926 washing machine; a 1930s stove); finishing with a melted pile of Dollar General shopping baskets from the George Floyd riots in 2020. If you're from Aurora, you may find it interesting; it's a fairly typical small museum.  I was able to do the entire museum in about 40 minutes, 20 downstairs and 20 up. I'd allow an hour if you don't want to be rushed.This is easy to find with GPS but didn't really jump out at me: it's in a fairly unassuming-looking building across from the "G.A.R." (Grand Army of the Republic) Museum just after the bridge. Hours are similar Thurs-Sat, so you could go for a twofer.
Aug 19th, 2022

Sep 25th, 2019

May 18th, 2019

Very nice! A lot of info.
Dec 11th, 2018