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. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • War, US Civil.
Location. 41° 52.104′ N, 87° 49.726′ W. Marker is in Forest Park, Illinois, in Cook County. 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, about 200 yards north of Roosevelt Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Forest Park IL 60130, United States of America. Touch for directions.
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); Forest Home Cemetery Veterans Flagpole (approx. 0.2 miles away); Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument (approx. half a mile away); Native Prairie Plants (approx. 0.6 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.7 miles
this page online
More about this marker. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, the monument was dedicated by the Columbia Post on June 8, 1913. Historic photographs of the memorial show that it originally was topped by a statue of a Union soldier, standing upright with his rifle; that statue was toppled at some point and later removed, and is believed to have been missing from the site for many years. A number of members of the G.A.R. Post and their spouses are buried on this lot, their graves demarked by small, rectangular bronze plaques. While they are numbered, with one as high as 28, only about 10 of these markers were spotted during a February 2024 visit to the cemetery.
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
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).
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 on Memorial Day 1936 about the 43 Chicago-area Union veterans who were still alive at that time identified C.B. Plattenburg and William Davis as the last two living members of the Columbia Post.
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 Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
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.
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 March 9, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 25, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 55 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on February 25, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 7. submitted on March 9, 2024, by Sean Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
