The Aurora Historical Society (AHS) will throw a party from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday to highlight the extension of its Summer exhibit, “Ethnicity and Diversity in Aurora, 1834-Present” through the middle of August. Admission is free but donations are appreciated. Music will be provided by The Internationals, an accordion-mandolin duo with eastern European roots, and there will be complimentary refreshments.
The exhibit, which opened May 4, features photographs and artifacts from the dozen ethnic communities which built the city from its founding in 1834.
Subsequent to native habitation, Yankees of English descent acquired the land and welcomed Irish, French Canadian, German and Luxembourg settlers to work in the factories and provide goods and services to an ever-growing population. After the Civil War, African Americans arrived. Around 1900, Eastern European Jews, Romanians, Italians, Greeks, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans arrived. The most recent immigrants arrived in the late 1900s from the Indian sub-continent and South Asia.
The materials on display are drawn from the museum’s collections, and constitute a family album.
In addition to the party Friday the exhibit will be open Wednesdays-Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. through August 18 at the Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer in Aurora. Admission is free.
— Aurora Historical Society
