Category Archives: Maps

Bando (a railroad story)

Posted on October 21, 2022 by editor

The only place in the United States named “Bando” is in Sangamon County. If you want to visit it from Springfield, you won’t have to go far. From Stuart Park on the city’s northwest edge, follow the trail that curves … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Maps, Railroads, Transportation | Leave a comment

Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame members, Sangamon County

Posted on September 19, 2022 by editor

The Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame includes plaques for a dozen – or so, depending on how you count them – inductees from Williamsville to Divernon in Sangamon County. U.S. Route 66, “the Mother Road,” probably the most famous … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Maps, Markers, Museums, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Route 66, State government, Transportation | Leave a comment

Pike’s Peak Ocean to Ocean Trail

Posted on November 1, 2021 by editor

Back when Illinois highways had names, not numbers, the Pike’s Peak Trail brought tourists, and their dollars, to central Illinois. The trail (full name “Pike’s Peak Ocean to Ocean Trail,” often abbreviated PP-OO or PPOO) was cobbled together from bits … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Maps, Transportation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Springfield in 1939, according to the Federal Writers Project

Posted on June 10, 2019 by editor

Editor: This entry, originally published in 2014, has been revised and expanded. Illinois: A Descriptive and Historical Guide was part of the American Guide series, which profiled each of the then-existing 48 states during the 1930s. The American Guides were … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Communities, Depression, Historic Sites, Histories, Illinois capital, Lincoln, Abraham, Maps, Markers, Springfield, Transportation | 2 Comments

Great National Horse Show and Equestrian Fair, 1865

Posted on September 23, 2018 by editor

The 11th annual Great National Horse Show and Equestrian Fair, held on the outskirts of Springfield in August 1865, was neither national nor, apparently, all that great. But it did draw Harper’s Weekly, the era’s most popular magazine, to central … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Illustrations, Maps, Spectacles, Sports and recreation | Leave a comment

Haskell Viaduct (Illinois State Fairgrounds)

Posted on August 15, 2018 by editor

The Haskell Viaduct was a pedestrian bridge that connected the Exposition Building to the Poultry Building at the Illinois State Fairgrounds from 1897 until, probably, the mid-1920s. The Poultry Building (today’s Artisans Building) also was completed in 1897, but in … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Maps, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Fallout shelters in Sangamon County

Posted on May 16, 2018 by editor

On April 5, 1964, about 150 people moved into the sleek, white-tiled tunnels below the State Office Building. They were to remain there for 25 hours, drinking purified water and munching biscuits, while loudspeakers blared warnings and audio recordings simulated … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Communications, Illinois capital, Local government, Maps, Public health | 9 Comments

Twelve Mile House

Posted on March 22, 2018 by editor

Twelve Mile House was an inn, stagecoach stop and post office in the early 19th century. It later became one of the landmarks used when Illinois officials designed the highway that became Route 66 and then Interstate 55. Where, exactly, … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Early residents, Historic Sites, Hotels & taverns, Maps, Transportation | 3 Comments

Two Mile House

Posted on March 22, 2018 by editor

Two Mile House was an 1840s inn that became Sangamon County’s first poorhouse. It also was the scene in 1849 of a possum hunt that went wrong. Two Mile House got its name because it was about two miles from … Continue reading →

Posted in Hotels & taverns, Maps, Transportation | 2 Comments

Coal mines in Sangamon County (maps)

Posted on August 24, 2017 by editor

The map above is a small-scale reproduction of an Illinois State Geological Survey map showing the extent of underground coal mining in the two Springfield quadrangles, Springfield East and Springfield West. The original map can be found at the survey’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Maps, Resources | Leave a comment