John Jaros, executive director of the Aurora Historical Society, and Greg Zanis, who created crosses that stood outside the Henry Pratt Co. following last year’s fatal shootings. The crosses are now on display at a special exhibit at the Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Place, Aurora. (Aurora Historical Society photo)

A one-year anniversary exhibit memorializing the events of Feb. 15, 2019, when six people died and seven others were wounded in a shootout at the Henry Pratt Company factory in Aurora is now open at the Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Place.

Created by the Aurora Historical Society, the exhibit will be centered on the five white crosses that stood for seven weeks outside the factory gates as a silent tribute to the employees gunned down inside.

Additional material in the exhibit will be memorabilia placed there by the public as symbols of mourning and support. There will also be material received by the Aurora Police Department from law enforcement agencies around the country, expressing solidarity, that was recently donated to the historical society.

“We are very aware that the community relies on us to preserve these remembrances,” said John Jaros, executive director of the Aurora Historical Society. “This was a dark page in Aurora’s history, but it is history nonetheless, and we will always honor it.”

The exhibit is expected to stay up until at least Feb. 29, 2020.  Pierce Center hours are noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.  Admission is free, although donations to the historical society are appreciated.

More information is available at www.aurorahistory.net.