Category Archives: Education

Annie Rheem Hannon (first woman elected to public office)

Posted on April 16, 2017 by editor

The first woman to hold an elective office in Sangamon County was Annie Rheem Hannon (1857-1945), who served from 1892 to 1894 as county superintendent of schools – a position for which neither she, nor any other woman, could cast … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Local government, Politics, Prominent figures, Sangamon County, Women | Leave a comment

Lincoln Land Community College founded, 1967

Posted on February 14, 2017 by editor

Lincoln Land Community College held its first classes on Sept. 23, 1968, in temporary buildings on a temporary site. Even the name was temporary. LLCC – officially known as Lincoln Land Junior College until two weeks after classes began –was … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, First Citizens, Higher education, Local government, Prominent figures, Schools and school districts | Leave a comment

Edith Martin, teacher & heroine

Posted on February 7, 2017 by editor

Teacher Edith Martin may have saved 30 children by forcing them out a second-story window as flames consumed Thayer’s Caldwell School on Feb. 16, 1903. An Illinois State Register special correspondent described the rescues in a highly colored account published … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Children, Education, Fires, Schools and school districts | Leave a comment

Ridgely School fire, 1916

Posted on February 3, 2017 by editor

Regular fire drills were credited with saving the lives of an unknown number of children when Ridgely School caught fire in the middle of classes on Nov. 15, 1916. The blaze began when sparks from the school’s coal furnace flew … Continue reading →

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Springfield High School explosions, 1932

Posted on October 24, 2016 by editor

Two firefighters and a janitor were killed when mystery explosions wrecked a storeroom at Springfield High School on March 20, 1932. A total of 13 people were injured by the blasts, which were never fully explained. The school’s night watchman … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Education, Schools and school districts | Leave a comment

Pawnee High School fire, 1958

Posted on November 8, 2015 by editor

Pawnee High School was demolished by a fire on Feb. 24, 1958, that was ignited by a student attempting to break into the school’s vault. Frank Carlos Ewing Jr., 15, admitted to Sangamon County sheriff’s investigators that he broke into … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Communities, Crime and vice, Disasters, Education, Law enforcement | 9 Comments

Divernon school photos, 1920s

Posted on November 8, 2015 by editor

The above photos of Divernon school students were provided by John Faber. Students’ identifications (except for a few relatives of Mr. Faber) are not available. Divernon opened its first school in 1887, but school enrollment began to jump after the … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Communities, Education, Photos and photosets, Schools and school districts | Leave a comment

Hay-Edwards School (1914-2000)

Posted on August 27, 2015 by editor

The former Hay-Edwards School, for which redevelopment plans were announced in August 2015, got its name from a former mayor and school board chairman and a prominent Springfield family. Charles Hay (1841-1916), a brother of President Abraham Lincoln’s secretary (and later … Continue reading →

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Stuart Elementary School

Posted on April 5, 2015 by editor

The Sixth Ward Primary School, located between Sixth and Seventh streets and Vine Street and South Grand Avenue, was the first Springfield public school organized after the original four ward schools. Stuart was built in 1883 and closed after the … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Early residents, Education, John T. Stuart, Prominent figures, Schools and school districts, Women | 12 Comments

‘How We Come to School’ — Pleasant Plains High School, 1924

Posted on March 19, 2015 by editor

Page 68 of The Anchor, the yearbook of Pleasant Plains Township High School’s class of 1924, suggested most students commuted to school via horseback or buggy, though a few groups posed with automobiles. The class will, below, suggests high school … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Education, Schools and school districts, Transportation | Leave a comment