Monthly Archives: December 2024

Ku Klux Klan rally at Illinois State Fairgrounds, 1922 (photo)

Posted on December 29, 2024 by editor

A Ku Klux Klan rally held in the Illinois State Fairgrounds Coliseum in October 1922 became a political flashpoint when Len Small sought a third term as governor six years later. The anti-Small Chicago Tribune published the photograph above on … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Illinois capital, Illinois State Fair, Photos and photosets, State government | Leave a comment

Springfield’s Ku Klux Klan legislator, 1920s

Posted on December 26, 2024 by editor

James H. Ashby didn’t mention his Ku Klux Klan membership when he ran for a seat in the Illinois House in 1924. But it was no secret – Ashby had already been identified in two lawsuits as one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Prominent figures, State government | Leave a comment

Oliver R. Barrett, Lincoln collector

Posted on December 18, 2024 by editor

Over a lifetime, starting at age 13, Oliver Barrett amassed an immense collection of documents, relics and source materials related to Abraham Lincoln. When Barrett died in 1950, his heirs offered his entire archive to the Illinois State Historical Library … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Histories, Lincoln Tomb, Lincoln, Abraham, Museums, Prominent figures, State government | 1 Comment

Mary Lord Harrison, Springfield’s other presidential wife

Posted on December 1, 2024 by editor

Mary Scott Lord Dimmick Harrison wasn’t quite the First Lady of the United States. But she came close. She wasn’t quite a Sangamon County native, either. But, again, close enough. Mary Dimmick (1858-1948) was 37 years old in 1896, when … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Presidents, Prominent figures, Schools and school districts, Women | 2 Comments