ORANGE – Residents gathered behind Orange Town Hall Monday afternoon to dedicate the placement of a bronze plaque on the stone monument to the former Memorial Hall at Prospect and High streets, which was demolished in 1996.

The work of three Orange women, Janice Lanou, Pamela Oddy and Pamela Rand, along with generous project donors, was commemorated with a 1 p.m. ceremony, while also taking the time to remember veterans who served in the Civil War and the wars thereafter.

“We did not do it alone. We had individuals helping us. We had organizations helping us. It was a group effort. It is our hope that Memorial Hall and this mark will serve as a reminder to future generations that this little Town of Orange did have a part to play in the Civil War,” Oddy stated during her opening remarks at the ceremony.

Prior to the ceremony, Rand and Oddy both expressed their excitement at the completion of the project, that Rand says has been ongoing since 1996. Orange resident Robert P. Collen, who was against the demolition and died in 2014 pushed for a memorial to be placed at the site, but funding issues prevented the project from going forward.

“We decided to finish the project and have it come to a conclusion,” Rand said.

Through community fundraising efforts, at least $6,000 was collected to purchase the stone from T.S Mann Memorials and the bronze plaque from G & S Lyman Inc.

In February, Rand, Oddy and Lanou picked out the stone to be used for the memorial, and the design for the bronze plaque was done by Tim Sakach and installed to complete what Collen envisioned 28 years ago.

Lanou spoke to the history of Memorial Hall. Built in 1892, it was dedicated to the Orange veterans who belonged to The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). These veterans served in the Civil War to preserve the Union between 1861 and 1865, and the GAR in Orange was one of 210 GAR posts in Massachusetts.

Memorial Hall was open for 104 years until its demolition in 1996 when the building fell into disrepair. The building inspector requested the town to either repair or demolish the property. Lack of funding and concern for the public’s safety prompted the town to opt for demolition.

Selectboard member Jane Pierce spoke as a representative of the town to dedicate the memorial. She spoke emotionally of the service veterans offered to the United States while noting that in the Civil War, 620,000 Americans died in the conflict, making it the deadliest war for U.S. soldiers in history.

Following the Civil War, Pierce said the GAR created the hall to offer a space for the veterans, supported by donations from residents.

“Immediately following the end of the war in 1865, the Grand Army of the Republic organized to support and memorialize the veterans of this horrific war by providing fraternity, charity and loyalty to the surviving veterans,” Pierce stated.

Pierce expressed that with the demolition of Memorial Hall, it is important to protect history in Orange where possible, naming several historical locations in town that are in decline.

Former Petty Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Rebecca Byrum King spoke at the dedication, recalling how multiple members of her family served across different branches of the Armed Forces, along with remembering what it means to be a veteran.

Following her remarks, in an interview, King said that she feels that with this dedication, it is important to remember the service provided by soldiers both recently and in the past.

“I think we’re all too quick to not recognize our past,” King said. “Any way that we can preserve that and recognize people who fought well before us, I think that’s a big thing.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.