Monthly Archives: May 2014

Robbery of Rochester State Bank, 1930

The Nov. 26, 1930, robbery of the Rochester State Bank quickly became a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style affair, complete with a car chase in which the robbers’ car was riddled by shots from a police officer’s submachine gun.  “Four bandits are nabbed on … Continue reading

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West End Brewery

Henry Long operated a brewery near present-day Fayette and Feldkamp streets in the late 1860s and early 1870s Long paid $2,500 for a 14-acre tract of land from Peter and George Miller on Sept. 22, 1865. The land, at the … Continue reading

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Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum controversies

Design and construction of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum took years and involved a variety of political squabbles and maneuvering. If politics could have been put aside, the facility would have been completed much sooner. Of course, since … Continue reading

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Springfield Ceramics and Crafts Club

The Springfield Ceramics and Crafts Club was founded on May 21, 1924, as the Springfield Ceramics Club. The charter membership was made up of 12 women, and the first president was Mrs. Lewis Minor, who had inspired the startup at … Continue reading

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Orange Judd buildings, Rochester

Buildings pictured in a 1918 collection, the Orange Judd Farmer Pictorial Community Album of Rochester Township and Village, are part of a walking tour created under sponsorship of the Rochester Historical Preservation Society. The Orange Judd Publishing Co. produced a … Continue reading

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Daniel Leib Ambrose

Daniel Leib Ambrose was a Springfield newsman in the 1870s and 1880s. He is best known for his collection of essays, Under the Gas-Light: Or Lights and Shadows in the State Capital of Illinois, this index.

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Under the Gas-Light: Or Lights and Shadows in the State Capital of Illinois

Under the Gas-Light: Or Lights and Shadows in the State Capital of Illinois (1879) is a collection of 31 essays originallywritten as “Rambles” in the Sangamo Monitor, a Springfield newspaper published from the 1870s into the 1890s. The writer of the … Continue reading

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Billy Sunday revival, 1909

Evangelist Billy Sunday’s six-week-long revival meeting in Springfield in 1909 is remembered chiefly because of a spectacular attack on Sunday the very first night of the revival. Sunday’s revivals were typically held in open-air “tabernacles” specially constructed for the evangelist. … Continue reading

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Springfield High School class of 1914 (graduation brochure)

The 116 graduates in Springfield High School’s class of 1914 held their commencement ceremonies at the grand Chatterton Opera House. Slightly over half were women. The graduation brochure was provided by the family of graduate Alice Blumle.       … Continue reading

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Benedictine University Springfield

The former Springfield Junior College/Springfield College in Illinois was absorbed by Lisle-based Benedictine University beginning in 2003. See Ursuline Sisters.

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