Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall - Rockford, Illinois
Posted by: BruceS
N 42° 16.366 W 089° 05.696
16T E 327241 N 4682186
First memorial hall in the U.S. dedicated to all veterans located in Rockford, Illinois.
Waymark Code: WM40AZ
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 06/16/2008
Views: 27
"Memorial Hall is significant in several areas. The military significance
is threefold. First, the Hall contains extensive artifacts of the Civil
War and the Spanish-American War. An extensive collection of Civil War
uniforms and weapons outline the collection, which also contains several Civil
War diaries. Even today, Civil War researchers use Memorial Hall as an
information center.
Secondly, both today and in the past, the building has
been the focal point for the meetings of all Veterans groups and posts in the
area. Each Post has a room that it uses as it headquarters and then holds
its monthly meetings in the Post Room.
The third area of military significance is that, after extensive research, it
is believed that Memorial Hall was the first War Memorial building that was
dedicated to the veterans of all wars. Unlike other War Memorials,
Memorial Hall is a living tribute to all U.S. Veterans and is not dedicated to
the veterans of the Civil War only. It is in this fact that Memorial Hall
achieves it greatest significance.
From the standpoint of political significance, Memorial Hall has one episode
in its history. That is the building was dedicated on June 3, 1903 by
President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt spoke from the front
steps of Memorial Hall and praised the efforts of the citizens of Rockford.
In 1903, it was a major undertaking for the President to travel and for him to
come to Rockford for this dedication adds greatly to the National significance
of this building." -
National Register Nomination Form