Author Archives: editor

Cotton Hill

Posted on April 23, 2021 by editor

Cotton Hill was the only community wiped from the map by the construction of Lake Springfield in the 1930s. But there wasn’t much there to begin with. The Illinois State Journal explained the origin of Cotton Hill in an editorial … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Local government, Parks | 11 Comments

Harry Lane, ‘boss gambler’

Posted on April 20, 2021 by editor

Chester M. “Harry” Lane was Springfield’s gambling kingpin at the turn of the 20th century, apparently with the connivance of police, city officials, and the courts. He stepped down in the mid-1900s, after a fatal shooting, the election of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Business, Crime and vice, Hotels & taverns, Journalism, Law enforcement, Media, Politics, Prominent figures | 1 Comment

St. Nicholas Hotel early days

Posted on April 17, 2021 by editor

J. Emil Smith, editor, publisher and columnist for the Illinois State Journal, wrote the following memory of the early St. Nicholas Hotel on Nov. 28, 1943, a few days before the McCreery family relinquished ownership. The McCreerys had operated the … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Historic Sites, Hotels & taverns, National Register, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The Lochridge brothers, Pawnee merchants

Posted on April 14, 2021 by editor

The Lochridge brothers began as farmers, but became grocers, businessmen, investors and, for a time, bankers. In the process, they helped build the town of Pawnee. The first Lochridges, Revolutionary War veteran Capt. John Lochridge (1761-1851) and his son William … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Communities, Early residents, Prominent figures, Railroads | 1 Comment

Zinc works, Devereux Heights

Posted on April 11, 2021 by editor

Spanish immigrants were skilled zinc workers, but they were also tough labor negotiators, managers of Springfield’s zinc smelter learned. The smelter, owned first by the United Zinc & Chemical Co. and then the National Zinc. Co., operated off Peoria Road … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Coal mines and mining, Ethnic groups, Industry, Prominent figures, Spanish | 2 Comments

B.H. Luers and Sons Shoe Store

Posted on March 31, 2021 by editor

Luers Group, which in 2021 specialized in children’s shoes and school uniforms, can legitimately boast that among the children who have worn the store’s shoes were the sons of Abraham and Mary Lincoln. Luers also might be, as some articles … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Chatterton Opera House roof collapse, 1887

Posted on March 20, 2021 by editor

There was no audience inside when the roof of the Chatterton Opera House collapsed on Aug. 9, 1887. “The blue sky is now the only covering that shelters the auditorium of the once beautiful interior,” the Illinois State Journal reported. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Arts and letters, Buildings, Disasters, Theaters | Leave a comment

Moonlight Garden

Posted on March 17, 2021 by editor

Moonlight Garden flourished as an open-air dance pavilion and then an indoor roller rink on Wabash Avenue for more than 35 years. Entrepreneur/showman Roy Dexheimer Sr. founded Moonlight Garden as the otherwise nameless “Open Air Dance Pavilion” in June 1927. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Crime and vice, Social life, Sports and recreation | 6 Comments

St. John’s Hospital

Posted on March 11, 2021 by editor

Mary Lincoln may have been one of the earliest patients to benefit from care provided by what is now the Hospital Sisters Health System. The story was handed down by a Franciscan nun, Sister Francis Dreisvogt (1849-1933), who was among … Continue reading →

Posted in Germans, Lincoln, Abraham, Medicine, Public health, Social services, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Walkathon Derby, 1934

Posted on March 8, 2021 by editor

When Springfield’s Walkathon Derby shut down on May 18, 1934, it left a mountain of unpaid bills and eight groggy couples. The competition, held in a large tent at Second and Mason streets, started May 5 with several dozen pairs … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Spectacles, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized | 2 Comments