Category Archives: Military

Armbruster Manufacturing Co.

Posted on March 5, 2014 by editor

Update: Armbruster Manufacturing Co. announced its permanent closure in February 2024. Many artifacts and documents from the company’s almost 150 years in business were donated to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.  In 1875, Rudolph Herman “R.H”. Armbruster broke away from … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Military, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

James Adams (1828 pioneers)

Posted on November 8, 2013 by editor

James Adams (1783-1843), was a New Yorker who arrived in Springfield in 1821, apparently in flight from a forgery indictment in his native state. Adams found himself involved in controversy — legal, political, and marital — in Illinois as well. … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches, Early residents, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Military, Politics, Prominent figures | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Thornton Walker

Posted on November 4, 2013 by editor

Thornton Walker* (1912-45) was the Illinois State Journal’s part-time aviation columnist during the 1930s. A Flickr page set up by his son-in-law, Bill Strouse, contains many photos of Southwest Airport, along with reproductions of some of Walker’s columns for the Journal. … Continue reading →

Posted in Airport, Journalism, Military, Photos and photosets, Prominent figures, State government, Transportation | Tagged | Leave a comment

Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co.

Posted on November 2, 2013 by editor

The Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. (later Fiat-Allis and Fiatallis) made heavy construction equipment from 1928 until 1985 at a 70-acre plant between Sixth and 11th streets and Stanford Avenue and Stevenson Drive. At its peak in the 1960s, A-C employed about … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Military | 85 Comments

Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport

Posted on November 2, 2013 by editor

Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport was dedicated, under its original name of Capital Airport, on Nov. 2, 1947. The ceremony culminated a nearly decade-long effort to build a new airport, an initiative sparked when the two airlines that previously served Springfield … Continue reading →

Posted in Airport, Journalism, Local government, Military, Prominent figures, Transportation | 2 Comments

Camp Dunne, 1916 (photo)

Posted on October 31, 2013 by editor

This entry was corrected and expanded in 2024. Camp Dunne was a temporary mustering facility at the Illinois State Fairgrounds prior to the United States’ entry into World War I during the military callup that followed Pancho Villa’s raid of … Continue reading →

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Camp Yates

Posted on October 31, 2013 by editor

At the start of the Civil War, the Sangamon County Fairgrounds on the western outskirts of Springfield was hastily converted into a mustering and training camp for new recruits and militias from around the state. Called Camp Yates, after Illinois’ Civil … Continue reading →

Posted in Markers, Military, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Philip Crowder’s Revolutionary War pension application

Posted on October 29, 2013 by editor

Philip Crowder (1759-1844), who is buried in a family plot in on the west side of Old Chatham Road across from Illini Country Club in Leland Grove, was a veteran of the American Revolution. He applied for a military pension … Continue reading →

Posted in Early residents, Military | Leave a comment

Honor Book of Sangamon County, Illinois, 1917-19

Posted on October 29, 2013 by editor

The Honor Book of Sangamon County is reporter Nellie Browne Duff‘s compilation of information on every county resident who, in one fashion or another, overseas or on the home front, contributed to the U.S. effort in World War I. Nearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Military, Resources | 2 Comments

Nellie Browne Duff

Posted on October 29, 2013 by editor

Nellie Browne Duff  (1888-1971) was a reporter, screenwriter, veterans’ advocate, aviatrix and provocateur in Springfield from 1917 until the late 1920s. She later moved to the Bellingham, Wash., area, where she apparently continued with some of the same pursuits. Duff … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Journalism, Military, Prominent figures, Resources, Transportation, Women | Tagged , , | 2 Comments