“Theodore Roosevelt Day,” June 3, 1903
June 3, 1903, was a day of great fanfare and celebration as President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt visited Aurora. Roosevelt was closing out a 2-month western tour in which he visited 22 states and territories. His 2-hour Aurora stop included lunching at the home of his friend, Senator Albert J. Hopkins of Aurora, leading a grand parade of fifty horse-drawn carriages through the mobbed thoroughfares of town, and a speech at Lincoln (now McCarty) Park. After his speech, Roosevelt was carried by train to his next stop, Joliet, the fifth of twelve Illinois cities visited.
President Theodore Roosevelt, 1904 Aurora Daily Beacon clipping, June 1, 1903 (AHS Collections) Aurora Daily Express, June 3, 1903 (AHS Collections) News clipping about Roosevelt visit, June 2, 1903 (AHS Collections) President Theodore Roosevelt acknowledges the crowd outside the home of Aurora Senator Albert J. Hopkins, Lake & New York Streets, June 3, 1903 (AHS photo) President Theodore Roosevelt doffs his hat to the crowds during his Aurora visit, June 3, 1903 (AHS photo) Roosevelt day badge (AHS collections) Roosevelt Day ribbon (AHS Collections) Roosevelt’s carriage leads the parade through the patriotically-decorated streets of downtown Aurora, June 3, 1903. Here, parade travels east on Fox Street (E. Downer), just past Water Set. (AHS Collections) This Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad train whisked President Roosevelt off to his next stop in Joliet, negotiating the route at a mile-a-minute clip, a speed record for that run (AHS Collections)
A few other June happenings in Aurora History
June 1867 — The Colored Baptist Church of Aurora is established. Aurora’s second African-American congregation, the church still exists today as the Main Baptist Church.
June 1, 1882 — The Aurora Public Library, established by City ordinance one year earlier, opens in the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) building on Stolp Island. That building would house the library until it moved to a new home at Stolp and Benton in 1904.
June 8, 1835 — The first lumber is sawn at the newly-constructed McCarty sawmill on the east bank of the Fox River, in the center of what would become downtown Aurora.
June 12, 1837 — Joseph J. Stolp, a 25-year-old from Marcellus, New York, arrives in the small village of Aurora. He would start Aurora’s first major industry, the Aurora Woolen Mills, and become one of Aurora’s most prominent early settlers. The island in the middle of downtown Aurora still bears his name.
June 17, 1993 — Riverboat gaming comes to Aurora as the Hollywood Casino-Aurora officially opens. When opened, the casino featured two floating riverboats docked at its facility on the north edge of Stolp Island, off the New York Street Bridge.
