A short history of Aurora
The Honey Creek area, near Aurora, was originally settled by pioneers from Tennessee, including James D. Hillhouse, E. B. Hillhouse, Reverend A. A. Young, James Barrow and James Gibson. They were later instrumental in founding Aurora. Their descendants include actor Brad Pitt and novelist and national security analyst Raelynn Hillhouse.
Galena ore was discovered in 1885 while digging a well on the farm of Thomas D. Liles in November, marking the beginning of Aurora as a mining town. Mining of surface outcrops began in 1886. Large scale commercial mining began shortly afterwards as the mines grew deeper and zinc and galena were discovered. The zinc from the Aurora mines was of exceptional purity and high grade. By 1893, 12,651 tons of zinc ore were mined and shipped from Aurora. The mines attracted prospectors and miners. Aurora's population peaked at 10,000 circa 1900.
The Frisco Railroad (now Burlington Northern-Santa Fe) and the Missouri Pacific (now Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad) previously had depots in Aurora. The train master for the Missouri Pacific Railroad's White River division was headquartered in Aurora until the mid-1950s.
From 1911 to 1920, the virulently anti-Catholic newspaper The Menace was published in Aurora by W. F. Phelps and Earl McClure. In 1914, it achieved a national circulation of over one million, according to the March 1932 issue of American Mercury.
Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Aurora, Missouri, revision 1378538475 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.