Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Columbia Post No. 706
Photographed by Sean Flynn, February 25, 2024
1. Columbia Post No. 706 Memorial
Department of Illinois
Grand Army of the Republic
1861 1865
Erected 1913 by Columbia G.A.R. Post No. 706.
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the The Grand Army of the Republic series list.
Location. 41° 52.104′ N, 87° 49.726′ W. Memorial is in Forest Park, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Forest Home Cemetery. It can be reached from 1st Avenue (Illinois Route 171) 0.3 miles south of Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290), on the right when traveling north. The marker is in section 43 of Forest Home Cemetery, about 250 feet away from the cemetery's bridge across the Des Plaines River. That bridge is closed as of February 2024, so this part of the cemetery cannot be accessed through the main entrance on Des Plaines Avenue; it can only be reached via the 1st Avenue entrance, which is about one-third of a mile (by car) west of this memorial. Touch for map. Memorial is in this post office area:
this page online
Regionally, this memorial is in Greater Chicago. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Phil Sheridan G.A.R. Post No. 615 Memorial (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Union Soldiers Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); Forest Home Cemetery Veterans Flagpole (approx. 0.2 miles away); Pottawatomie Village and Burial Ground (approx. 0.3 miles away); Joseph Carter Corbin (approx. 0.4 miles away); Ancient Indian Trail (approx. 0.4 miles away); Haymarket Martyrs' Monument (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named Haymarket Martyrs Monument (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Forest Park.
More about this memorial. According to an article
Photographed by Sean Flynn, February 25, 2024
2. Columbia Post No. 706 Memorial (rear side)
The cemetery's bridge over the Des Plaines, out of service at the time of this visit, is in the background (behind the geese).
Regarding Columbia Post No. 706. Columbia Post No. 706 was Chicago's "silk stocking" Grand Army of the Republic post, capped at 150 members, most prominent veterans and those with the means to attend weekly meetings. The post was active nationwide in veteran encampments.
The marker here was the site of an annual Memorial Day wreath-laying until at least the late 1930s, often attended by thousands; the 1935 service was the last one to include members of the post in its services. A Chicago Tribune article published
Photographed by Sean Flynn, February 25, 2024
3. Columbia Post No. 706 Memorial
The graves of John C. Ward, a veteran of the 155th Ohio infantry regiment and Columbia Post member, and his wife Rose Wallace Ward are marked in front of the Columbia Post monument.
The G.A.R. post officially was adopted into Forest Park's American Legion post in 1935, so that that group could carry on Memorial Day honors for years to come.
Also see . . . Roster of Columbia Post No. 706, G. A. R., Chicago, Illinois. (Submitted on February 25, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Photographed by Sean Flynn, February 25, 2024
4. Henry T. Brougham grave marker
Brougham was a Columbia Post member who is buried near the post's memorial in Forest Home Cemetery.
Photographed by Sean Flynn, February 25, 2024
5. Robert F. Wilson grave marker
Wilson's grave is part of the Columbia Post's plot at Forest Home.
Keystone-Mast Collection, UCR/California Museum of Photography, Univ. of California at Riverside, circa 1929
6. Columbia Post No. 706 Memorial
This 1929 photo shows the memorial with its original soldier statue on top. That statue was toppled by vandals and later removed at some point many years ago. The photograph is part of the Keystone-Mast Collection of 250,000 stereographic glass-plate and film negatives and 100,000 vintage prints preserved at the University of California at Riverside's Museum of Photography.
Charles R. Clark, photographer; courtesy of Chicago History Museum, May 30, 1911
7. Columbia Post No. 706 participates in a Memorial Day parade, 1911
Members of the Columbia GAR Post stand in line with a few children during a Memorial Day parade in Chicago on May 30, 1911. Another photo from the event shows the post marching during the parade.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 18, 2025. It was originally submitted on February 25, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 336 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on February 25, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 7. submitted on March 9, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
