William Baumer Post 24, Nebraska City, NE

In Nebraska, 372 towns organized G.A.R. posts, the first in 1867 in Omaha.

William Baumer Post 24, Nebraska City, was mustered August 2, 1879. The Post was named for one of Nebraska's native CIvil War veterans. Colonel Baumer commanded the 1st Nebraska Infantry in which over 200 Nebraska City volunteers served. William Baumer's portrait hangs in the Hall.

Construction of the Hall began in 1894, with significant support from the William Baumer Woman's Relief Corps No. 107 (W.R.C.). The Hall was dedicated in March, 1895. More than just a meeting place for the G.A.R. and the W.R.C., it was a community center. Many groups, both political and social, were allowed to use the building. Youth groups, temperance meetings, and various woman's groups met here.

Post 24 closed in 1935, when the last local Post member, William Balfour, died. The Depatment would not close until 1948, when Nebraska's last Civil War veteran, Michael Bondell, died in Beatrice. Even after the Post and Departments closed, the Hall continued to serve the community as a well-used meeting site.

In 1991, the G.A.R. Hall, Inc., a non-profit Nebraska corporation was formed to preserve and restore the building to its original condition. The main room of the building contains memorabilia and artifacts of the G.A.R. and Civil War history.

The Ralph Kruger Research Library, named for a Nebraska City native instrumental in the preservation of the Hall, contains books, magazines, and videos to assist visitors wanting to learn more about the history of the Civil War and the G.A.R., or to explore genealogical ties to veterans.