Those attending can explore the history of Aurora and the Burlington Railroad with an Aurora Historical Society exhibit, “Celebrating 175 Years, 1849-2024,” through August 17 at the Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Place in Aurora. The public is invited. Admission is free. Artifacts include photos, a handcar,...
Mary Clark Ormond continues to be a history-maker as the third recipient of the Aurora Historical Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Having retired from the Society’s Board of trustees in 2023, the Board recently recognized Mary for the impact she made not only at the organization but Aurora at-large through the...
A visit with the animals is a treat for kids at the Aurora Historical Society Tanner House independence Day celebration Tuesday, July 4.
Dr. James Varney is a retired educator who spent nearly five decades working with students from preschool through master’s degree candidates. He served as principal at several Aurora schools and directed the Partnership School for fourth and fifth graders at Aurora University. Varney taught both undergraduate and graduate students at...
Hours of the 1857 Tanner House Museum, 304 Oak Avenue, Aurora, will resume May 28 and tours will be offered every Sunday afternoon of the Summer through September 3. Admission is free, although donations are appreciated. Hours for the 45-minute tours are 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.. President of the...
A touchstone of the arts in Aurora, Nancy Smith Hopp left us March 23, 2023 with the same unassuming grace she showed in all she did in Aurora. And, she did a great amount. As a historian, biographer, connoisseur of art and architecture, philanthropist, executive, trustee, conservationist, gardener, mentor, and...
The Aurora Historical Society is adding a series of five talks by Aurora-area art experts to the Spring exhibit on display at the Pierce Art and History Center at 20 E. Downer Place in Aurora. Entitled Aurora’s Own Ruth Van Sickle Ford, the show features more than 30 watercolors by...
More than 100 Aurora Historical Society members and guests turned out Friday, March 3 to preview an exhibit paying homage to famed Aurora artist Ruth Van Sickle Ford (1897-1995). “Aurora’s Own Ruth Ford,” an exhibit of approximately 35 Ford paintings loaned by local collectors, will run through May 13 at...
The life and work of artist and educator Ruth Van Sickle Ford (1897-1989) is the subject of the Spring exhibit at the Aurora Historical Society (AHS). “Aurora’s Own Ruth Van Sickle Ford” will present her life story from her earliest days as the daughter of restaurateurs in Aurora to her...
The five white crosses commemorating the lives lost in the workplace shooting at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora February 15, 2019, will be on display at the Aurora Historical Society from February 3 through February 18 at the Pierce Art and History Center. The crosses, made by the late...
The Vintage Aurora calendar for 2023, published by the Aurora Historical Society, is available online at www.aurorahistory.org or at the gift shop in the Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer, 60505. The calendar is $17.95 plus tax and members receive a 10% discount. Shipping applies to online orders....
Holiday open houses at the 1857 Tanner House Museum in Aurora will begin Sunday, Dec. 4, and feature eight specially-decorated rooms. New this year Santa and Mrs. Claus will be visiting on the opening Sunday, to offer holiday greetings and photo ops in the elaborate parlor. The House will be...
By Al Benson Approximately 70 persons gathered Saturday, Oct. 22, to celebrate Ruth VanSickle Ford’s 125th birthday. Guests dined at the Aurora Country Club amid 50 oil and watercolor paintings loaned by patrons of the late Aurora artist, educator, and entrepreneur. Ford (1897-1989) owned and operated the Chicago Academy of...
Mary Clark Ormond, president of the Aurora Historical Society, looks at the storage space for smoking materials hidden in the armrest of a gentleman's Victorian-era smoking chair, which is ornamented with carvings of smoking dogs.
Aurorans can participate in old-fashioned Independence Day fun from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, July 4 at the Tanner House Museum, 304 Oak Avenue in Aurora’s historic Tanner District. There will be a petting zoo, Andy Head – the Wild Wacky Juggler, a blueberry-pie-eating contest, the Bradley Keven Green...
Russ George, left, Cosmopolitan Club of Aurora president, presents a $500 check to John Jaros, Aurora Historical Society executive director and Mary Clark-Ormond, society president.
Due to the upcoming holiday weekends hours at the Pierce Art and History Center will be Tuesday-Thursday, Dec. 21-23 from noon to 4 p.m. and December 28-30, from noon – 4 p.m.. The building, which contains several exhibits and the shop, will be closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years...
The Tanner House Independence Day ringing bells event will take place from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Fourth of July at the Tanner House, 305 Cedar Street, Aurora. The 53rd annual ringing of our historic bells by the children of Aurora will begin promptly at 1 p.m.. There will be...
Angela Clay Thomas was reelected to a third term on the Board of Trustees of the Aurora Historical Society Thursday, Jan. 21.
The face mask, in the view of the Aurora Historical Society, will become the icon of the Covid-19 era. For historians it will be the pictorial marker of a time and a symbol standing for how Aurora and the world strove to deal with a public health menace. It will...
