HISTORY:
The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) was founded in 1866 by Benjamin F. Stephenson in Decatur, Illinois with a purpose "To perpetuate the patriotic memories of the struggle to preserve the Union and to serve as a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army who had served in the Civil War." HINGHAM G.A.R.:
In 1869, The Edwin Humphrey Post of the Grand Army of the Repub
lic in Hingham was organized, named after a Hingham man who died on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Col. Hawkes Fearing was the post's first commander. In 1888, Hingham's Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Memorial Hall was dedicated as a meeting place for veterans and became a major postwar social organization. BUILDING:
The building was designed by 22 year-old architect Henry Merritt, the son of a Hingham blacksmith, in a Neo-Gothic style. In addition to being a meeting place for veterans, the hall has served many functions; in 1912, before Loring Hall began showing movies, the G.A.R. showed silent films. In the 1930's the G.A.R. Hall was dissolved by its last two surviving members. Years later the building was known as the Maj. Edward B. Cole American Legion Post 120, named for a Hingham resident who served during WWI. TODAY'S G.A.R. HALL:
Today, Hingham's G.A.R. Memorial Hall is used by veterans for meetings and special events for Memorial and Veterans Days. The G.A.R. Hall also houses historic and wartime memorabilia that serves to honor, recognize and remember the men and women who have served, and the heritage of our local and national military history.
