As you step into the meeting room, you feel as though you are stepping back in time, which was the goal of the post members when they deeded this building to Litchfield in 1885.  The goal is to keep it looking as it did when the last meeting was held within these walls.  On the north wall, you will notice the pictures of many of the post members which were given to the Hall. The large composite picture on the wall near the main room entrance features photographs of 99 of the early Post members and Frank Daggett for whom the Post was named. Clark Angell, a member of the Post and Meeker County pioneer photographer, donated his services to record the faces of this Post's membership. In a glass case below this large composite of photos are "encampment" medals collected by the GAR and their auxiliaries, the women's Relief Corps, Ladies of the GAR and the Sons of Veterans at their annual conventions.  The Ladies of the GAR still actively meet here in Litchfield. 

The chairs in the  main room are the same ones which were brought in by the original members in 1885.  Each member was to bring a wooden chair, and although they are all painted gray and look very similar, a closer examination shows quite a variety of builders.  The altar, the gavel and the miniature cabin in the corner were made from wood of the cabin near Acton, SW of Litchfield, where the first settlers were killed in the Dakota War of 1862.  Several of the members of this post were involved in the Dakota War.

One of the features of the Hall is the large chandelier in the meeting room.  16 globes, now electric,  were originally kerosene lamps.  Lowed by a chain, the chandelier provided enough heat in the winter that at many meetings the two fireplaces were not needed.  The chandelier has had some spicy tales, including that it came from a bordello in New Orleans and was transported north after the war.  But the only certainty we have is that it came to Litchfield from Boston and until the G.A.R Hall was completed was displayed in various store windows in downtown Litchfield. 

The Litchfield Independent from Tuesday, November 24, 1885 states, “In the center of the room is the finest chandelier in the city, just purchased in Boston, and holding sixteen lamps.”  The same article describes the banquet they held at the Hall.  “To the majority of those present it was their first visit to the hall since its completion and many were the exclamations of surprise at the elegance of the interior.”

We still appreciate the exclamations of surprise as people step into the Litchfield G.A.R. Hall.   It is not just a display, it is the actual Civil War meeting place full of Civil War memories.  It was preserved by a generation with great foresight.