Category Archives: Industry

Koke Mill

Posted on October 21, 2013 by editor

Koke Mill was on Spring Creek, near the present-day Koke Mill Road crossing. One of the best-known local mill names today, Koke Mill has one of the most complicated histories of ownership. It went through more than a dozen owners … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Mills, Prominent figures | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Robert Carr Lanphier meets Thomas Edison

Posted on October 21, 2013 by editor

Robert C. Lanphier (right)was the engineering genius behind the creation of Sangamo Electric Co., which was incorporated in 1899. In his section of a privately published booklet, “Sangamo: A History of 50 Years” (1949), Lanphier related his first meeting with … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Prominent figures | 2 Comments

Monarch Tractor Corp.

Posted on October 14, 2013 by editor

Monarch Tractor, an offshoot of a Wisconsin manufacturer of crawler tractors, opened a plant south of Springfield’s Harvard Park neighborhood in 1925. Monarch was purchased in 1928 by Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Corp., which took over the Springfield factory. The last Monarch … Continue reading →

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Pawnee Railroad

Posted on October 13, 2013 by editor

As railroads became vital to community development in the late 19th century, Pawnee farmers and businessmen took the unusual step of financing and building their own rail link. The line originally ran west from Pawnee to connect to the north-south … Continue reading →

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Pillsbury Mills

Posted on October 13, 2013 by editor

Note: This entry was significantly expanded in 2021 and slightly updated in 2022. 2025 note: With demolition under way, the Pillsbury Project issued its own 128-page history of the Springfield plant, along with documentation of the plant’s buildings and processes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Industry | Tagged | 33 Comments

Reisch Brewing Co.

Posted on October 12, 2013 by editor

Update: Under prodding from Springfield breweriana collector Daryl Ponder, a non-profit group, Reisch Charities, resurrected the Reisch Brewing Co.’s flagship brand, Reisch Gold Top Beer, in 2019. The new Gold Top, brewed by younger Reisches from the original family recipe, … Continue reading →

Posted in Breweries, Business, Fever River, Industry, Prominent figures | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Sangamo Electric Co.

Posted on October 9, 2013 by editor

Editor’s note to readers: We regularly receive technical questions about old Sangamo Electric meters — they obviously were so well made that they practically last forever. Luckily, two readers have responded to some of those questions. (See comments below.) We greatly … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Prominent figures | Tagged , , , , | 119 Comments

Hummer Manufacturing Co.

Posted on October 8, 2013 by editor

Operating under a variety of names, Hummer Manufacturing Co. (originally Sattley Manufacturing Co.) was one of Springfield’s most important industries for more than 70 years. The firm originated in 1851 as a small farm-machinery manufacturer operated in the Rochester area by brothers Archibald … Continue reading →

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Racine-Sattley Manufacturing Co.

Posted on October 8, 2013 by editor

See Hummer Manufacturing Co. 

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Sattley Manufacturing Co.

Posted on October 8, 2013 by editor

See Hummer Manufacturing Co. 

Posted in Business, Industry | Tagged | Leave a comment