Author Archives: editor

Ss. Peter and Paul Church

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 426 N. Sixth St., completed in 1866, was closed in 2001 and demolished in 2002. St. Pete’s, as it was known, was formed when Irish and German Catholics decided to form separate parishes in … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Churches | Tagged , | 19 Comments

St. Joseph’s Home

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

St. Joseph’s Home, a nursing home for the elderly at 3303 S. Sixth Street Road, opened in 1903. Officials announced in the fall of 2021 it would close that December. The home was operated by a Catholic order of nuns, … Continue reading →

Posted in Public health | Tagged | Leave a comment

Judge Lawrence Stone

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

Judge Lawrence E. Stone (1875-1946) served as a Sangamon County circuit judge and then an appellate judge from 1932 until his death. At his death, he was thought to hold the record for having his circuit-court decisions upheld by higher … Continue reading →

Posted in Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Street car ‘war’ of 1890

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

Springfield’s street car “war” of 1890 actually consisted of several months’ worth of legal and political maneuvering between two local street car operators, although a brief confrontation on Spring Street did leave the president of one of the companies with … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Local government, Transportation | Tagged | 2 Comments

John Todd Stuart

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

John Todd Stuart (1807-85) was Abraham Lincoln’s first law partner, a cousin of Mary Lincoln, a three-term U.S. representative and an influential resident of Springfield for 57 years. Stuart was born in Kentucky and moved to Springfield, already a lawyer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Early residents, Illinois capital, Lincoln, Abraham, Prominent figures | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The ‘Sudden Change’

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

When John Carroll Power was collecting material for his 1876 history of Sangamon County’s early settlers, he was frequently asked, “Has any person told you about the sudden change?” Several old-timers recalled to him the bizarre events of Dec. 20, … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Early residents, Weather | Leave a comment

Sugar Creek Covered Bridge

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

The Sugar Creek Covered Bridge, the last covered bridge in Sangamon County, spans Sugar Creek a few hundred yards south of where early settler Robert Pulliam built a cabin during his first visit to the area in 1817. The 60-foot … Continue reading →

Posted in Historic Sites | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Billy Sunday revival (1909)

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

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 →

Posted in Churches, Social services | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Sunshine School

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

The Sunshine School, housed on the north side of Springfield High School, was an early special education facility. It also was part of a nationwide effort to combat diseases such as tuberculosis. Many school districts across the country hosted similar … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Education, Fever River | Tagged | Leave a comment

Talisman steamboat

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

The Talisman, a “splendid upper cabin steamer,” left Cincinnati on Feb. 2, 1832, bound for Springfield via the Ohio, Mississippi, Illinois and — most importantly to central Illinoisans — the Sangamon rivers. The venture raised hopes that the Sangamon could … Continue reading →

Posted in Lincoln, Abraham, Sangamon River, Transportation | Tagged , | 1 Comment