Author Archives: editor

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library site (Fever River)

The site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential  Library and Museum is one of five areas of Springfield that Fever River Research has studied exhaustively.  The resulting reports  are extraordinarily informative historical and archaeological analyses. Fever River Research says it “specializes … Continue reading

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Abrams Hotel (1828 pioneers)

The Abrams Hotel was described as “the principal hotel of the city” in John Todd Stuart’s later reminiscence of 1828 Springfield. It was near the southeast corner of First and Jefferson streets and is No. 5 on the reconstructed map … Continue reading

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Ad Men’s Club

The Ad Men’s Club was formed in 1906. See Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

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Adams Wildlife Sanctuary

The Adams Wildlife Sanctuary in the 2300 block of Clear Lake Avenue was donated to the Illinois Audubon Society by Margery Adams, whose family had owned the property for more than 100 years. Margery Adams (1897-1983) lived in the home on … Continue reading

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Trip to Springfield, 1852 (letter)

Mark Bangs of Lacon, while on a business trip to Springfield in 1852, wrote a letter to his wife Nellie, describing his trip and giving his impressions of the elite American House Hotel, the largest in Illinois at the time. … Continue reading

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Amrhein Bakery

Amrhein Bakery, founded in 1888 by Christoph Amrhein (1864-1935) operated first from a shop in downtown Springfield, but moved to Eighth Street and North Grand Avenue a few years later. Business grew to the point that Amrhein built a large … Continue reading

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Aristocracy Hill neighborhood (Fever River)

Springfield’s Aristocracy Hill neighborhood, which takes in an area just south of downtown, is one of five areas of Springfield that have been exhaustively studied by Fever River Research of Springfield. The resulting reports  are extraordinarily informative historical and archaeological … Continue reading

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Association of Commerce and Industry

The Association of Commerce and Industry was formed in 1953 by a merger involving the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, the Springfield Manufacturers and Employers Association and the Springfield Industrial Development Commission. See Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

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Bank run of 1932 (George Bunn Jr. memoir)

George “Gib” Bunn Jr. remembered Springfield’s banking crisis of December 1932 in an oral interview conducted in 1973. The interviewer was John Bucari. Below is an edited transcript of the section of the interview dealing with the failure of the … Continue reading

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Bates Experimental Road

The Bates Experimental Road of 1922-23  was, literally and figuratively, a groundbreaking study. In the early 1920s, the Illinois Division of Highways was preparing to embark on a major road construction program to accommodate the rapidly growing population of automobiles. … Continue reading

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