Search entries
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Judith Bennett Johnson on Rural mail delivery begins, 1896
- editor on Carl Rinnus, popular sculpture
- Melinda McDonald on Carl Rinnus, popular sculpture
- editor on Church of the Immaculate Conception (‘Old St. Mary’s’)
- editor on Sangamo Electric Co.
Archives
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- July 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
Categories
- Abolitionism
- African Americans
- Agriculture
- Air travel
- Airport
- Amusements
- Architecture
- Arts and letters
- Auto dealers
- Breweries
- Buildings
- Business
- Celebrations
- Children
- Churches
- Coal mines and mining
- Communities
- Crime and vice
- Department stores
- Depression
- Disasters
- Early residents
- Education
- Family life
- Farming
- Fever River
- Fires
- First Citizens
- Higher education
- Historic Sites
- Histories
- Hotels & taverns
- Illinois capital
- Illustrations
- Industry
- John T. Stuart
- Journalism
- Labor unions
- Law enforcement
- Lincoln Home
- Lincoln Tomb
- Lincoln, Abraham
- Lindsay, Vachel
- Lithuanians
- Local government
- Maps
- Markers
- Media
- Medicine
- Military
- Mills
- Museums
- National Register
- Native Americans
- Parks
- Photos and photosets
- Politics
- Prehistory
- Presidential candidates
- Presidents
- Prominent figures
- Public health
- Race riot of 1908
- Railroads
- Resources
- Restaurants
- Sangamon County
- Sangamon River
- Schools and school districts
- Science
- Social life
- Social services
- Soil
- Spectacles
- Sports and recreation
- Springfield
- Springfield Survey
- State government
- Transportation
- Uncategorized
- Women
Blogroll
Category Archives: Business
Springfield manufacturers and professions, 1869
The Jan. 4, 1869 edition of the Illinois State Journal included a section headlined “Our City: Its Population and Progress” that recorded a wide range of economic statistics. Here is some of what the Journal reported. Few even of our … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Industry
Leave a comment
John S. Condell memoir, 1840s
John S. Condell Sr. (1818-1907), born in Ireland, arrived in Springfield by way of Philadelphia and Carrollton in 1841. Condell was one of Springfield’s pioneer merchants, operating stores on the downtown square for more than 40 years. One of his … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Early residents, Historic Sites, Histories, Prominent figures, Social life
2 Comments
Sangamo Electric meter chronology
The six images below give the serial numbers of watthour meters (singlephase and polyphase), mechanical and thermal demand meters, and instrument transformers manufactured by Sangamo Electric and the years (between 1930 and 1981) they were manufactured. Collectors and people still … Continue reading
Johnston-Hatcher fires, 1907 & 1913
The Johnston-Hatcher Co. sold home furnishings of all kinds from 1899 to 1949 in downtown Springfield. The store, however, fell victim to two of the city’s most devastating early 20th-century fires. Johnston-Hatcher was the creation of two sets of brothers … Continue reading
Wolf Creek Mill
Wolf Creek Mill, also known as Constant’s Mill, was on Wolf Creek in Williams Township, about three and a half miles southeast of Williamsville. The 1881 History of Sangamon County, Illinois states the mill was built in 1825 by Thomas … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Early residents, Mills
Leave a comment
Pizza in Springfield
Springfieldians got their first taste of pizza at The Wonder Inn tavern, 808 E. Washington St., in 1947. Fred and Anna Viele, who operated The Wonder Inn, began marketing “La Pizza” as “something new and tasty from Italy” in February … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Hotels & taverns, Restaurants
6 Comments
Ben F. Caldwell: politician, farmer, banker
Ben Franklin Caldwell (1848-1924) was a member of Congress and the Illinois legislature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He also was a farmer, banker and civic leader whose donations helped build schools in both Chatham and Thayer. … Continue reading
Bressmer department store fire, 1948
Fire caused by a lightning bolt destroyed the John Bressmer Co. department store in downtown Springfield early on May 2, 1948. First reports estimated damages of $2 million. Even though that figure was later adjusted downward to about $1.3 million, … Continue reading
Posted in Buildings, Business, Department stores, Fires
2 Comments
Boston Store fire, 1915
What was thought to be Springfield’s most disastrous fire ever, up to that point, demolished The Boston Store on the east side of the downtown square on Dec. 7, 1915. The Boston Store was part of a loosely affiliated chain … Continue reading
Posted in Buildings, Business, Department stores, Disasters, Fires, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
Most costly fires in Springfield, 1904-48
The following list of the most destructive fires in Springfield history was published in the May 3, 1948, Illinois State Journal. The list is based solely on the amount of property damage. Damage estimates are not adjusted for inflation. Preliminary … Continue reading
Posted in Buildings, Business, Department stores, Disasters, Fires
2 Comments