Monthly Archives: April 2013

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

Mechanicsburg

Posted on April 7, 2013 by editor

Mechanicsburg, south of Interstate 72 18 miles northeast of Springfield, was platted in 1832 by William Pickrell. In hopes of boosting settlement, Pickrell offered a free town lot to any “mechanic” who would build a building and pay for the title. … Continue reading →

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Buffalo

Posted on April 7, 2013 by editor

Buffalo, founded as a station on the Wabash Railroad, was platted in 1854  and incorporated as a village in 1872. Entrepreneur Josiah Green built the first house in what later became Buffalo in 1848; it was used as a boarding … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Communities, Railroads, Transportation | 1 Comment

Riverton

Posted on April 7, 2013 by editor

Like many early towns, the village of Riverton’s proximity to the Sangamon River contributed to its beginnings. A ferry across the Sangamon, operated by Ezikiel Judd, was the first enterprise in the area. He later transferred the ferry to his … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Coal mines and mining, Communities, Early residents, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Mills, Railroads, Sangamon River, Schools and school districts, Sports and recreation, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 13 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 in … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Prominent figures | 16 Comments

Auburn

Posted on April 2, 2013 by editor

Auburn was founded twice. The first time was in 1835 by the Eastman family – George and Asa, along with their sister Hannah, who chose “Auburn” as the name of the fledgling community. (An 1896 Illinois State Journal article hypothesized that … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Communities, Disasters, Prominent figures, Sports and recreation | Tagged | 1 Comment

New Berlin (and Berlin): Following the railroad

Posted on April 2, 2013 by editor

When Europeans arrived, three villages of Pottawatomie and Delaware Indians were in the Berlin/New Berlin area. “During the first few years after the first settlers came, the Indians were as numerous as the whites,” reports a New Berlin history in … Continue reading →

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Berlin

Posted on April 2, 2013 by editor

Founded: When Europeans arrived, three villages of Pottawatomie and Delaware Indians were in the Berlin/New Berlin area. “During the first few years after the first settlers came, the Indians were as numerous as the whites,” reports a New Berlin history in … Continue reading →

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Thayer

Posted on April 1, 2013 by editor

Founded: Thayer was incorporated in 1901, centered around a railway station on the Chicago & Alton line and a Chicago, Wilmington & Vermilion Coal Co. mine that, by 1910, employed 450 miners. As of 1910, Thayer had a population of … Continue reading →

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