Author Archives: editor

Abortion murder trials, 1894

Posted on September 7, 2020 by editor

Was a Springfield doctor guilty of killing two women via botched abortions in 1893? Juries said no, but newspaper editorial writers disagreed. And despite the acquittals of Dr. John H. Lawrence, the boyfriend of one of the women was convicted … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Medicine, Women | Leave a comment

Theodore Lorch, actor

Posted on September 1, 2020 by editor

Theodore Lorch, who spent his teenage years in Springfield, was a film and stage actor whose busy career spanned the 1900s through the 1940s. Although he had leading roles in such movies as the 1920 version of “Last of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Media, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Loomis Observatory

Posted on August 29, 2020 by editor

For 15 years early in the 20th century, one of the United States’ most sophisticated private telescope systems operated from a modest house on North First Street in Springfield. The Loomis Observatory eventually housed four telescopes – two larger scopes … Continue reading →

Posted in Prominent figures, Science | 5 Comments

St. Agnes Parish, Springfield

Posted on August 25, 2020 by editor

On August 25, 1889 a religious procession marched from the former Church of the Immaculate Conception at Seventh and Monroe streets to College Street, where St. Agnes Catholic Church was to be erected. Hundreds of marchers waved American flags, ecclesiastical … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches | 4 Comments

Prince Sanitarium fire, 1923

Posted on August 21, 2020 by editor

Twenty-five patients and five nurses escaped unharmed when a fire destroyed the top two floors of the David Prince Sanitarium on Aug. 23, 1923. But a Springfield Fire Department aerial truck was also a near-casualty. The Prince Sanitarium was founded … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Fires, Medicine | Leave a comment

Sangamon Fair and Springfield Exposition, 1890

Posted on August 17, 2020 by editor

The Sangamon Fair and Springfield Exposition of 1890 would be “one of the grandest events in the way of a local fair that has ever been held in the state of Illinois,” the Illinois State Register proclaimed that August. Everybody … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Amusements, Illinois State Fair, Spectacles | Leave a comment

Fishman Sporting Goods

Posted on August 9, 2020 by editor

Fishman Sporting Goods was an institution for 99 years in downtown Springfield. Founder Louis Fishman emigrated to Springfield in 1887, fleeing anti-Jewish pogroms in his native Russia. He went into business on the smallest of scales, as the Illinois State … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Sports and recreation | 4 Comments

William Dodd Chenery, impresario

Posted on August 4, 2020 by editor

The dedication of Lake Springfield on July 12, 1935 featured an elaborate pageant involving more than 100 participants – among them city fathers who portrayed themselves in a drama depicting the planning and construction of the lake. The Illinois State … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Celebrations, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures, Social life, Spectacles | Leave a comment

Killing of police detective, 1938

Posted on July 26, 2020 by editor

A work disappointment sent James Young into an emotional crisis on Jan. 11, 1938, culminating in the deaths of both Young and Springfield Police Detective Patrick Gilmore. Florence Young told officers later the incident began that morning, when her husband … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement | Leave a comment

First computer (1954)

Posted on July 24, 2020 by editor

The Franklin Life Insurance Co. had to tear out windows and walls to accommodate Springfield’s first computer. Then it had to hire a derrick to hoist the “electronic brain” five floors up. Franklin Life ordered the $1 million Univac from … Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Leave a comment