The Copperopolis Armory is a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

armory Armory or armoury may mean: * An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition Places *National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...

located at 695 Main St. in Copperopolis,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The brick

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

building was constructed in 1864 to house the Union Guard of Copperopolis, the town's regiment of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

. Copperopolis largely owed its existence to the war; the town grew due to a boom in local

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

mining in 1860, which stemmed from the Union Army's need for copper ammunition. The armory served a variety of purposes for the Union Guard; at the building, new soldiers were enlisted, training was conducted, and arms and supplies were stored. Military balls, victory celebrations, and the local funeral ceremonies for

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

also took place in the armory. The armory also held an 1837 bronze cannon, which was used for ceremonial purposes and arms training; the cannon remains in the building and is one of the few American bronze cannons from the era in California. After the war, the

Independent Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Order of Odd ...

bought the building, which they converted to a social hall. In 1940, the armory became a community center. The armory was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on December 30, 1997.

References

External links

* Armories on the National Register of Historic Places in California Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in California Greek Revival architecture in California Government buildings completed in 1864 Buildings and structures in Calaveras County, California National Register of Historic Places in Calaveras County, California American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places {{CalaverasCountyCA-NRHP-stub