Enjoy the Memorial Day holiday and learn about life in the late 1800s in the Victorian Village Guided Tour (includes admission to the Main Museum Center).

Midway Village invites the public to attend Decoration Day ceremonies, showing how the holiday would have been observed in the year 1894.

What we now call Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day.

The origins of Decoration Day go back to May 30, 1868, when General John A. Logan, an Illinois congressman, and head of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) issued General Order Number 11, instituting a day to decorate the graves of Union soldiers who had died in the Civil War.

It would be a holiday observed by each state independent of the others for a century, until 1968, when it was declared a Federal holiday. In 1971, the official name of the holiday was changed to Memorial Day, and now commemorates the soldiers and sailors of all conflicts the US has been in.

Schedule of events:

11 AM, Flag Raising ceremony in front of the schoolhouse, with General John Logan's Decoration Day proclamation, as well as readings of poems written for the day, followed by a procession to the village churchyard to lay flowers on headstones.

The public is encouraged to join the procession, and bring flowers, a photo, or card with the name of a family member that has served, to be pinned on a board next to the churchyard.

Throughout the day: Tours of the village will make a stop at the churchyard to talk about the history of Decoration Day, and the role of the G.A.R. in promoting its observance. There will also be a display of G.A.R. memorabilia in the JL Clark Hardware Store.

3 PM. Flag Retreat ceremony, with readings of additional poems, etc., followed by a procession to the churchyard to lay more flowers. As with the 11 AM ceremony, the public is encouraged to join the procession, and bring a photo or card with the name of a family member that has served, to be pinned on the board.

Purchase Tickets HERE

Questions? Call 815-397-9112.