Author Archives: editor

Courthouse square locomotive

Posted on December 17, 2017 by editor

Two thousand people filled Adams Street in 1915 to watch a steam locomotive puff its way from Third Street to the courthouse square. The engine – the Chicago & Alton Railroad’s No. 533 – was set up on the south … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Historic Sites, Spectacles | Leave a comment

Second Christmas parade (1929)

Posted on December 8, 2017 by editor

Correction: This entry has been retitled. The first Christmas parade (smaller and less formal) in Springfield was held in 1914. You can read about it here. Embarrasssed apologies from SangamonLink’s editor, who wrote both entries, for forgetting the first one. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Children, Department stores, Depression, Spectacles | 1 Comment

Frank Tracy (banker)

Posted on December 3, 2017 by editor

Frank W. Tracy (1833-1903) was president of the First National Bank and an investor, alderman, school board member and civic leader. See First electrified home.

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First electrified home

Posted on December 3, 2017 by editor

The first Springfield home to be equipped with electric lights reputedly was the palatial residence of Frank and Sarah Jones Tracy. It’s not clear when Frank W. Tracy, a banker and civic leader, had the lights installed. The date probably … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Local government, Prominent figures, Social life, Springfield | 6 Comments

First electric lights

Posted on November 25, 2017 by editor

Many Springfieldians got their first exposure to electric lights from two traveling circuses in 1880. Within a year, however, the city’s first power station was powering 10 “very brilliant” lights downtown, and a group of prominent businessmen had created the … Continue reading →

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Roland and Isaac Diller (Old Settlers Society)

Posted on November 19, 2017 by editor

Roland and Isaac Diller, father and son, were friends with Abraham Lincoln and the Lincoln family as well as mainstays of the Old Settlers Society of Sangamon County for more than 60 years. See Old Settlers Society of Sangamon County.

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Old Settlers Society of Sangamon County

Posted on November 19, 2017 by editor

Thousands of Sangamon Countians once turned out for the annual reunions of the county’s Old Settlers Society. The events featured games, lavish picnics, speechifying and recognition of some of the county’s earliest residents. The organization began with an appeal in … Continue reading →

Posted in Celebrations, Early residents, Lincoln, Abraham, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

‘Husband, dear husband’: poem by a legislative wife (pre-1881)

Posted on November 17, 2017 by editor

The nameless, uncredited poem below was printed in the 1881 History of Sangamon County, Illinois, printed by the Interstate Publishing Co. of Chicago. Here is all the History tells us about it: As is well known, the session of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Histories, Illinois capital, State government, Women | 1 Comment

Thomas W.S. Kidd (publisher)

Posted on November 12, 2017 by editor

“Capt.” Thomas S.W. Kidd published the Sangamo Monitor, later renamed the Morning Monitor, from 1873 until 1898. See Sangamo Monitor.

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Morning Monitor

Posted on November 12, 2017 by editor

The Morning Monitor was the name given the former Sangamo Monitor in 1880. The Sangamo Monitor, founded as a weekly newspaper in 1873, became a daily in 1877, leading to the nw name. See Sangamo Monitor.

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