Author Archives: editor

The Curve Inn’s curve

Posted on March 3, 2026 by editor

The Curve Inn once sat on an actual curve. The nightspot, housed in a 94-year-old building at 3219 S. Sixth Street Road, was badly damaged by fire in February 2026. The inn originally was near a long curve that connected … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Crime and vice, Fires, Hotels & taverns, Restaurants, Route 66, Social life, Transportation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Route 66: Where are all the people going? (1946)

Posted on March 3, 2026 by editor

Wilford Kramer, chief editorial writer for the Illinois State Journal, saw problems with the post-World War II widening of Route 66 from two lanes to four. This is a reprint of “Upon Reflection,” Kramer’s regular editorial page column, printed on … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Media, Prominent figures, Route 66, Transportation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

National Public Radio in Springfield

Posted on February 16, 2026 by editor

This is WSSR, Springfield, Illinois, with our inaugural broadcast. WSSR is operated by Sangamon State University and licensed to the Board of Regents of the state of Illinois. WSSR is heard at 91.9 megahertz on the FM dial and is … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Communications, Higher education, Journalism, Media | Leave a comment

Samuel S. Ball investigates Liberia emigration, 1848

Posted on February 8, 2026 by editor

Editor’s note: This bulk of this entry comes from a talk, titled “The Spirit of Springfield’s Early African-Americans,” delivered by local historian Richard E. Hart on May 20, 2002, to the Sangamon County Historical Society. Hart (1942-2022), an indefatigable researcher, … Continue reading →

Posted in Abolitionism, African Americans, Early residents, Histories, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

First motorized police & fire vehicles

Posted on January 26, 2026 by editor

Springfield city government entered the automobile age on July 30, 1913, when the police department’s first gasoline-powered vehicle went into service. The wagon collected its first prisoner and its nickname a few hours later. The arrestee was Arthur Luckey, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Local government, Springfield, Transportation | Leave a comment

Auburn’s double-decker bandstand

Posted on January 18, 2026 by editor

The double-decker bandstand on the Auburn square evokes the early 1900s, when growing pains preoccupied Auburn residents. Today’s bandstand is a 21st-century replica of Auburn’s original two-story bandstand. The first bandstand was built in 1905, shortly after Auburn residents voted … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Celebrations, Communities, Historic Sites, Local government, Markers, Prominent figures, Route 66, Social life, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Tuxhorn Mine

Posted on January 12, 2026 by editor

The Tuxhorn Coal Mine, which opened in 1903 in the Round Prairie/Rochester area, produced more than 3 million tons of coal before it closed two decades later. As many as 250 miners worked at the mine during its most productive … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Coal mines and mining, Communities, Labor unions, Railroads, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

James Wickersham, legendary Alaskan

Posted on December 21, 2025 by editor

James L. Wickersham spent only six years, from about 1877 to 1883, in Sangamon County. He came to Springfield as assistant, office boy and general dogsbody to former Gov. John M. Palmer. He left the city as a fledgling lawyer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Prominent figures | 1 Comment

Rochester’s Alaskan mountain

Posted on December 13, 2025 by editor

A photo caption below has been corrected. Unlikely though it seems, Rochester, Illinois, elevation 570 feet, has a legitimate claim to a mountain in Alaska. But you have to drive 3,800 miles to see it. Mount Deborah, 12,339 feet above … Continue reading →

Posted in Prominent figures, Uncategorized, Women | 3 Comments

Santa surrenders sleigh to snowballs (1950 Christmas parade)

Posted on December 3, 2025 by editor

Santa Claus, of all people, should have felt right at home when a four-inch snowfall greeted Springfield’s 1950 Christmas parade. But Santa couldn’t overcome a barrage of snowballs. The parade, which stepped off from Fifth Street and Lawrence Avenue the … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Children, Spectacles | Leave a comment