Aurora Historical Society

10/10/2026

09/26/2026

Today was a special day for the Aurora Historical Society and for one of Aurora’s historic homes.

Sharon (Rammage) Davis, a descendant of the Riley family, visited the historic Riley House on South Chillicothe Road and shared family history, photographs, and artifacts that helped bring the people who lived there more than a century ago into much clearer focus.

David Marshal Riley, born in Aurora in 1817, was a descendent of one of Aurora’s early pioneer families. He worked as a carpenter and spent a number of years in Twinsburg before returning to Aurora. His family connections reach back to some of the earliest years of settlement in the Western Reserve. David’s grandfather, Julius Riley, was a Revolutionary War veteran who later settled in Aurora, and members of the Riley family were already appearing in Aurora records by the early 1800s. David’s father, Julius Augustus Riley, was part of the next generation of the family in Aurora, while David’s uncle, Eppy Riley, arrived here as early as 1807 and later served in the War of 1812.

David married twice. His second wife, Mary Hutchinson Riley, was the Mary associated with the Riley House. David and Mary had four children together: Nellie, Cora, Grover, and Charles. When the family was living in the house around 1890, David was already in his seventies, but this was not simply a retirement home for an older couple. It was also the home of a young family, with their children growing up there.

The Riley family’s story extends well beyond the house itself. Other branches of the family farmed substantial acreage along Cochran Road, and names such as Gurdon Riley, Lorenzo Riley, and Charles Riley appear throughout Aurora’s local history. The family’s connections also intersect with other early Aurora and Western Reserve families, including the McConougheys and Cochrans.

Sharon’s visit also helped connect several photographs and records preserved in Aurora history to members of the Riley family. Just as importantly, she generously left a number of Riley family artifacts with the Aurora Historical Society so that they can be preserved and studied for future generations.

Days like today are a reminder of why local history matters. A house can survive for more than a century while the stories of the people who lived inside it gradually become separated from the building. Sometimes a family visit, an old photograph, or a carefully preserved document puts those pieces back together.

We are very grateful to Sharon Davis for sharing her family’s history and entrusting these materials to the Aurora Historical Society. And the story is not finished. We hope to continue researching the Riley family, the construction and early history of the Riley House, and the family’s place in Aurora’s earliest years.

09/24/2026

MANTUA HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND MANTUA RESTORATION SOCIETY OHIO OPEN DOORS EVENT
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19,2026
10am – 4pm
Ohio Open Doors is a State-wide event that takes place every other year. During Ohio Open Doors,
stewards of historic buildings, places, and spaces open their doors to the public for special tours and
programs.
The Mantua Historical and Mantua Restoration Societies are holding their Ohio Open Doors Event on
Saturday, September 19, 2026, form 10am – 4pm at the Mantua Historical Society on The Green at 4122
Twinsburg Warren Road, Mantua, Ohio 44255 and the Mantua Center School Annex, 11741 Mantua
Center Road, Mantua, Ohio 44255.
The Events of the Day include:
• Dedication of the new Historic Marker, which commemorates the Mantua Center Historic
Boundary increase
• Displays and refreshments at the Mantua Center School Annex
• Demonstrations of how historic items are archived in the museum
• Mantua Center Church will be open for quilt viewing and questions about the oldest Disciples of
Christ Church in Ohio
• East Lawn Cemetery talk
• Music by Steve Stork
This is a free event Open to the Public.

09/20/2026

Today is the day!

🍔 Aurora Historical Society Summer Picnic – Sunday, September 20! 🌳

Join us for our annual Summer Picnic from 2–4 PM at Moebius Nature Center! It’s a great chance to enjoy good food, catch up with friends, meet fellow history lovers, and hear about what’s happening with the Aurora Historical Society. Must be a member to attend, but easy to become a member at our website.

Hamburgers and hot dogs are generously provided by Anna Maria of Aurora. Guests with last names A–L are asked to bring a dessert, and M–Z are asked to bring a side dish.

📅 Sunday, September 20
🕑 2–4 PM
📍 Moebius Nature Center
☀️ Rain or shine!

Please RSVP to Gwen at [email protected] or 440-915-8723.

Come spend an afternoon with neighbors, friends, and fellow supporters of Aurora’s history. We’d love to see you there!

www.aurorahistorical.org

09/18/2026

Only 2 days away!

🍔 Aurora Historical Society Summer Picnic – Sunday, September 20! 🌳

Join us for our annual Summer Picnic from 2–4 PM at Moebius Nature Center! It’s a great chance to enjoy good food, catch up with friends, meet fellow history lovers, and hear about what’s happening with the Aurora Historical Society. Must be a member to attend, but easy to become a member at our website.

Hamburgers and hot dogs are generously provided by Anna Maria of Aurora. Guests with last names A–L are asked to bring a dessert, and M–Z are asked to bring a side dish.

📅 Sunday, September 20
🕑 2–4 PM
📍 Moebius Nature Center
☀️ Rain or shine!

Please RSVP to Gwen at [email protected] or 440-915-8723.

Come spend an afternoon with neighbors, friends, and fellow supporters of Aurora’s history. We’d love to see you there!

www.aurorahistorical.org

09/17/2026

In celebration of America250, the Aurora Historical Society is sharing Aurora history.

Imagine traveling for 42 days across rivers, mountains, swamps, mud, and barely existing roads to build a new life in the Western Reserve.

That was part of Chauncey Eggleston’s journey to Aurora.

Eggleston arrived with his family in 1807. His own reminiscences describe a difficult journey through the Allegheny Mountains and an almost unbroken Ohio wilderness. He would go on to become a blacksmith, farmer, community leader, soldier, and ultimately a brigadier general in the Ohio Militia. Aurora’s first military company was formed in 1810, and Eggleston served with the company during the War of 1812.

His story also gives us a vivid picture of everyday pioneer life, when basic supplies had to travel more than 100 miles, farming and hunting were necessities, and settlers relied heavily upon ingenuity and one another.

Aurora’s history is not simply a collection of dates. Through firsthand accounts like Eggleston’s, we can hear the voices of the people who helped build the community.

The Eggleston house was the featured home on the 2026 Aurora Historical Society Historic Home Tour.

09/14/2026

🍔 Aurora Historical Society Summer Picnic – Sunday, September 20! 🌳

Join us for our annual Summer Picnic from 2–4 PM at Moebius Nature Center! It’s a great chance to enjoy good food, catch up with friends, meet fellow history lovers, and hear about what’s happening with the Aurora Historical Society. Must be a member to attend, but easy to become a member at our website.

Hamburgers and hot dogs are generously provided by Anna Maria of Aurora. Guests with last names A–L are asked to bring a dessert, and M–Z are asked to bring a side dish.

📅 Sunday, September 20
🕑 2–4 PM
📍 Moebius Nature Center
☀️ Rain or shine!

Please RSVP to Gwen at [email protected] or 440-915-8723.

Come spend an afternoon with neighbors, friends, and fellow supporters of Aurora’s history. We’d love to see you there!

www.aurorahistorical.org

09/12/2026

The Aurora Historical Society Museum and the historic Ebenezer Sheldon Deed House are both open today, Saturday, October 10th from 10 am until 4 pm. Don't miss the opportunity to learn about Aurora's history.

09/10/2026

In celebration of America250, the Aurora Historical Society is sharing Aurora's history. Aurora’s tradition of military service reaches back almost as far as the nation itself.

Aurora’s first settler, Ebenezer Sheldon, had served as a minuteman responding to the Lexington alarm in 1775. Other early settlers also brought military histories with them, including Julius Riley, who served in the Connecticut Light Horse Cavalry, and Samuel Taylor, a drummer boy whose discharge papers were signed by George Washington. During the War of 1812, Aurora residents again answered the call, with an Aurora company helping defend the Cleveland frontier.

Aurora’s service continued through the Civil War, when 80 local men served in the Union Army between 1861 and 1865. Eight Aurora men are confirmed to have died during the war.

Their uniforms, weapons, and circumstances changed across generations, but the willingness of Aurora residents to serve did not.

We remember the people behind these stories and the sacrifices that connect Aurora’s earliest history to the community we know today.

Visit the Aurora Historical Society to learn more.

09/08/2026

🍔 Aurora Historical Society Summer Picnic – Sunday, September 20! 🌳

Join us for our annual Summer Picnic from 2–4 PM at Moebius Nature Center! It’s a great chance to enjoy good food, catch up with friends, meet fellow history lovers, and hear about what’s happening with the Aurora Historical Society. Must be a member to attend, but easy to become a member at our website.

Hamburgers and hot dogs are generously provided by Anna Maria of Aurora. Guests with last names A–L are asked to bring a dessert, and M–Z are asked to bring a side dish.

📅 Sunday, September 20
🕑 2–4 PM
📍 Moebius Nature Center
☀️ Rain or shine!

Please RSVP to Gwen at [email protected] or 440-915-8723.

Come spend an afternoon with neighbors, friends, and fellow supporters of Aurora’s history. We’d love to see you there!

www.aurorahistorical.org