Category Archives: Industry

Coal mining

Posted on April 10, 2013 by editor

For several years in the middle of the 20th century, Sangamon County was a leader among Illinois counties in the production of bituminous coal. Coal was discovered in Illinois as early as 1673, when French explorers Marquette and Joliet noted … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Disasters, Industry | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Baker Manufacturing Co.

Posted on April 8, 2013 by editor

The Baker Manufacturing Company, founded in Springfield in 1908, was a predecessor of Springfield’s Allis-Chalmers (later Fiatallis) construction equipment plant. Baker Manufacturing produced a wide range of road construction and maintenance products, in its later years specializing in crawler tractor … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry | Tagged | 1 Comment

Illiopolis

Posted on April 7, 2013 by editor

The founding of Illiopolis was described in the Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, Vol. 2  (1912): In 1834, when the question of the removal of the State Capital began to be agitated, a beautiful city was laid out by John Taylor, Eli … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Disasters, Industry, State government | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Albert Ide and the Ideal Engine

Posted on April 5, 2013 by editor

Inventor and businessman Albert L. Ide (1841-1897) won international fame as the creator of the Ideal steam engine, which was used in early electric generation systems around the turn of the 20th century. Born in Ohio in 1841, Ide arrived … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Prominent figures | 22 Comments

John L. Lewis

Posted on March 26, 2013 by editor

For 40 years the head of the biggest coal miners union in the U.S. in an era when the country depended almost entirely on coal for its energy needs, John Llewellyn Lewis (1880-1969) was a household name from the 1920s … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Coal mines and mining, Historic Sites, Industry, Oak Ridge signs, Prominent figures | Tagged | Leave a comment

Aetna Foundry and Machine Shops

Posted on March 18, 2013 by editor

The Aetna Foundry and Machine Shops, established in 1848 by a partnership named Lowry, Lamb & Co., operated for most of its existence at the southwest corner of Second and Adams streets in Springfield. John C. Lamb became sole owner in 1855. … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Coal mines and mining, Industry | Tagged , , | 2 Comments