1857 Italianate mansion donated to Aurora's historical society in 1936, where four family members died and the Will County Ghost Hunters confirmed unexplained activity
304 Oak Ave, Aurora, IL 60506
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Complimentary admission for standard museum tours (June through late September); special haunted history events are ticketed separately
Access
Limited Access
1857 two-story brick residence; stairs to upper floors; not fully ADA accessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1857 · National Register of Historic Places · Aurora Pioneer History · Italianate Architecture · Aurora Historical Society
William A. Tanner came to Aurora in 1835 from Watertown, New York, drawn by the commercial potential of the Fox River valley. He worked as a land surveyor before purchasing western riverfront property and farming for about eighteen years. In 1839 he married Anna Plum Makepeace; the couple returned to Aurora and eventually had ten children.
Tanner's pivot to hardware retail made his name synonymous with the city's commerce. The Tanner hardware business operated for an extraordinary 140 years, passing through successive owners after the family before finally closing in 1979 — the longest continuously operating business in Aurora's history.
He built the brick Italianate residence at 305 Cedar Street in 1857. Designed as a Latin Cross floor plan with an octagonal cupola at its center, the house reflected both his prosperity and the architectural tastes of the era. Four deaths occurred inside: William Tanner died in 1892, with his funeral held in the parlor; Anna Tanner died in 1908, her funeral also held in the house; two of their children also died in the residence.
Two of the Tanner children donated the house to the Aurora Historical Society in 1936, and the family occupied it for the full seventy-nine years before that. The National Park Service added it to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1976. The Aurora Historical Society operates the house today as a Victorian-era museum with free guided tours offered June through late September.
Sources
The Aurora Historical Society acknowledges the house's paranormal reputation while noting that its historical records contain no official documentation of supernatural events. The reports come from a long series of occupants and workers rather than from any single dramatic incident.
Claimed experiences include cold spots appearing and disappearing in specific rooms, doors slamming when there is no draft to account for it, candles igniting on their own, and persistent sounds of a child running through the downstairs hall when no child is present. Workers renovating or maintaining the building have, in at least one documented account, refused to return after what they described as a persistent unsettling presence.
On the night of October 23, 2006, eight investigators from the Will County Ghost Hunters Association conducted an overnight investigation of the Tanner House for the Aurora Beacon-News. The group used standard paranormal investigation equipment and reported findings they characterized as credible evidence of activity. Their conclusion: reports of paranormal activity at the Tanner House should not be dismissed out of hand.
The figure described most specifically by visitors is a woman appearing at the top of the staircase, looking downward. The identification of this figure with any specific Tanner family member has not been established in the sources reviewed for this entry. The Aurora Historical Society runs periodic special events it calls 'Haunted History: Spirits of Tanner House,' which pair the paranormal lore with the documented family history.
Notable Entities
The Aurora Historical Society offers free guided tours of the 1857 Tanner House from June through late September, covering the family history, period furnishings, and the house's role in early Aurora. Four family members died in the house and their funerals were held here.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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