Editing Aurora, Indiana (section)

==History==
Aurora was [[plat]]ted in 1819.<ref name=shaw>{{cite book|last=Shaw|first=Archibald|title=History of Dearborn County, Indiana: Her People, Industries and Institutions|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_c080AQAAMAAJ|year=1915|publisher=Unigraphic|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_c080AQAAMAAJ/page/n264 265]}}</ref> It was named for [[Aurora (mythology)|Aurora]], the goddess of dawn in Roman mythology.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=5168 | title=Profile for Aurora, IN | publisher=[[ePodunk]] | access-date=31 August 2014 | archive-date=July 5, 2003 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030705214105/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=5168 | url-status=live }}</ref> Aurora was incorporated as a town in 1822 and became a city in 1848, though some sources say 1845.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hellmann|first=Paul T.|title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC&pg=PA310|date=14 February 2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1-135-94859-3|page=310|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-29 |title=City of Aurora – Good Things Happen in Aurora! |url=https://aurora.in.us/ |access-date=2025-03-24 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Aurora is known for its historic downtown area and the ornate Hillforest mansion built for Thomas Gaff who earned his fortune shipping goods on the [[Ohio River]] by steamboat.<ref>Scouting New York website, http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=2335 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717022740/http://www.scoutingny.com/?p=2335 |date=July 17, 2010 }}</ref> The mansion was designed by architect Isaiah Rogers and was completed in 1855 in the Italian Renaissance style. The design is symmetrical. Details include deep overhangs, arched windows and balconies and porches.  [[Hillforest]] was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1992.<ref>Historic Hillforest website, {{cite web|url=http://www.hillforest.org/history.php |title=History |access-date=2012-04-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726151830/http://www.hillforest.org/history.php |archive-date=2011-07-26 }}</ref>

Aurora was once a [[sundown town]], a place unwelcoming to non-whites after dark. Local newspaper ''The Aurora Journal'' reported on a reader's concern about a sign "posted somewhere along the river" that read, "Nigger, Don't Let the Sun Set on You in Aurora".<ref name="Booher">{{Cite news |last=Booher |first=L. L. |date=September 9, 1937 |title=Do You Know? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/929825586/ |newspaper=The Aurora Journal |page=8 |access-date=2024-09-09 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=October 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241003235018/https://www.newspapers.com/image/929825586/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the article, published on September 9, 1937, "The sign has been down for some time, but the idea still holds good."<ref name="Booher" />

In addition to Hillforest, the [[Aurora City Hall]], [[First Methodist Church (Aurora, Indiana)|Aurora Methodist Episcopal Church]], [[Aurora Public Library (Indiana)|Aurora Public Library]], [[Downtown Aurora Historic District]], [[First Evangelical United Church of Christ]], [[First Presbyterian Church (Aurora, Indiana)|First Presbyterian Church]], [[George Street Bridge (Aurora, Indiana)|George Street Bridge]], [[Lewis Hurlbert, Sr. House]], [[Leive, Parks and Stapp Opera House]], [[Levi Stevens House]], and [[George Sutton Medical Office]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>