Grand Army of the Republic Hall

G.A.R. Hall, 402 E. Marshall, 616 781 8544. Built in 1902 to house the Marshall chapter of the Union Civil War Veterans, the Grand Army of the Republic is now an archival storage area for the Marshall Historic Society and a Marshall Museum.    G.A.R. Hall from the Michigan Historic Site Historic Marker: Marshall's Civil War veterans organized a Gran Army of the Republic chapter in 1883. They built this handsom red brick structure as their headquarters in 1902. It was named for Marshall's Corporal Calvin Colegrove, color bearer for the Michigan First Infantry, who was killed at he first Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. The G.A.R. Hall was built in 1903 at a cost of $3,000 and was dedicated March 17, 1903. The Hall was built by veterans of the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics, one of the three Civil War units composed of Marshall men. A cannon was placed on the west side of the G.A.R. Hall in 1906, donated by the U. S. Government. The cannon (a Parrott Rifle) was shipped from the arsenal at the Watervliet, New York. In 1911 the City of Marshall erected a stone monument to the GAR veterans with a brass plate. Originally the monument was between the curb and sidewalk and faced south, later moved to the present location facing north. The city also donated the plot at Oakridge Cemetery, decorated with a large siege mortar and cannon balls also donated by the government. This mortar is quite a collectors item being the first one cast by the Cyrus Alger and Company of South Boston. It was shipped from the arsenal at Frankfort Philadelphia. The GAR Hall was the meeting place for the Colegrove Post but the building was used for other groups including W.R.C. (Woman's Relief Corps) in 1905, Ice Cream Social in 1914, Gospel Center Church in 1936, Char Toe Dance Studio in 1939, the S.O.U.V. (Sons of Union Veterans) were still meeting there as late as 1957, V.F.W. (Veterans of Foreign Wars) in 1946, D.A.U. Chapter No. 65 (Woman's Relief Corps) in 1948, the Seventh Day Adventist Church in 1967, a splinter group from the Lutheran Church in 1969, and the Marshall Art Center in 1975. In 1977 the building and grounds were sold by the City to the Marshall Historical Society for $1.00 after approval by the voters. The society restored the building and opened a historical museum and archives at that location. A restored porch was added in 1983. In 1992 the museum was changed to a Civil War Museum by curator Roger Graves. (Colonial Revival) Back to the top of this page     Back to the Marshall Michigan Home Page Back to the Marshall Home Page History Index     Excerpts of "A history of Marshall" used by permission from Richard Carver, all rights reserved. Ordering Information