Author Archives: editor

Walter Tabor (Maldaner’s restaurant)

Posted on November 9, 2014 by editor

Walter Tabor (1888-1971) owned Maldaner’s, Springfield’s oldest restaurant, from 1934 until his death. See Maldaner’s restaurant.

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Maldaner’s restaurant

Posted on November 9, 2014 by editor

John Maldaner (1852-1924), the namesake founder of Maldaner’s restaurant, got his start at age 14, making cakes and candies for a confectioner on the north side of what is now the Old Capitol Plaza. He went into the confectionery business … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, First Citizens, Prominent figures, Restaurants | Leave a comment

Police news, 1883

Posted on November 8, 2014 by editor

The following cases were all reported on Page 4 of the Oct. 7, 1883 Illinois State Journal. They give a sense of how both law enforcement and newspapers dealt with crime and court cases 130 years ago. NIGHT PROWLERS. A … Continue reading →

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Artie Matthews (ragtime composer)

Posted on November 7, 2014 by editor

Acclaimed ragtime composer Artie Matthews apparently got his start as a musician in the bars and bordellos of Springfield’s old Levee district. After composing such ragtime classics as Weary Blues — later recorded by, among others, Louis Armstrong, King Oliver … Continue reading →

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Springfield U.S. Census figures

Posted on November 1, 2014 by editor

See Population changes, 1830-2010.

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Sangamon County U.S. Census figures

Posted on November 1, 2014 by editor

See Population changes, 1830-2010.

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Sangamon County boundary maps

Posted on October 29, 2014 by editor

When formed in 1821, Sangamon County took in all of what now are Sangamon, Menard, Logan, Cass, Mason and Tazewell counties, parts of McLean, Woodford, Marshall, Putnam, Macon and Christian counties, plus a sliver of northern Morgan County. Cass was … Continue reading →

Posted in Local government, Maps, Sangamon County | 2 Comments

William Cullen Bryant’s travels in the Sangamon Country, 1832

Posted on October 28, 2014 by editor

In 1832, poet William Cullen Bryant (“Thanatopsis”), traveled from his home in Massachusetts to visit  his brothers in Jacksonville. He took the occasion also to travel briefly through Sangamon and what now is western Logan County into Tazewell County, where … Continue reading →

Posted in Histories, Hotels & taverns, Sangamon County, Sangamon River | Leave a comment

Sharon Tyndale murder mystery, 1871

Posted on October 27, 2014 by editor

Sharon Tyndale, Illinois secretary of state from 1865 to 1869, was shot to death the morning of April 29, 1871, in what became Springfield’s most enduring murder mystery of the 19th century. Tyndale was walking on Adams Street to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Illinois capital, Law enforcement, Lincoln Tomb, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Suicide of Secretary of State Harry Woods, 1914

Posted on October 26, 2014 by editor

Springfield and Illinois as a whole were shocked when the news broke Oct. 12, 1914 that Secretary of State Harry Woods had shot himself in the garage of his home at 628 S. Walnut St. Woods, 51, had been dead … Continue reading →

Posted in Law enforcement, Politics, Prominent figures, State government | 2 Comments