Category Archives: Industry

Zinc works, Devereux Heights

Posted on April 11, 2021 by editor

Spanish immigrants were skilled zinc workers, but they were also tough labor negotiators, managers of Springfield’s zinc smelter learned. The smelter, owned first by the United Zinc & Chemical Co. and then the National Zinc. Co., operated off Peoria Road … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Coal mines and mining, Ethnic groups, Industry, Prominent figures, Spanish | 2 Comments

Newcomer-Bell Mill

Posted on September 24, 2020 by editor

The Newcomer-Bell Mill was on Sugar Creek in Woodside Township, on a site that today is covered by Lake Springfield south of Lindsay Bridge. William Southwick (1805-83)purchased the property on Dec. 6, 1830 and formed a partnership with Armon Lathrop … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Early residents, Industry, Mills | 5 Comments

Albert Booth family, wagon makers

Posted on June 13, 2020 by editor

The A. Booth and Son Wagon Factory once dominated the northeast corner of Eighth and Washington Streets in Springfield. The factory was built by Albert Booth (1813-1873), who moved his family from Menard to Sangamon County around 1840. He first … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Industry, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

George Voyzey, union radical

Posted on May 3, 2020 by editor

The radical sympathies of Springfield labor activist George Thomas Voyzey (1893-1950) got him in trouble with both local authorities and other union leaders. Voyzey served as chairman of the Springfield affiliate of Save the Union, a miners’ group that broke … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Depression, Industry, Labor unions, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Worst coal mine accident (1918)

Posted on April 4, 2020 by editor

Four coal miners were killed Feb. 23, 1918, in the worst coal mine accident in Sangamon County history. Six employees of the mine, Citizens Coal Co.’s Mine A west of Springfield, were charged with negligence and violating mining laws, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Industry | Leave a comment

Harvard Park

Posted on September 17, 2019 by editor

The person who named Harvard Park, one of Springfield’s largest early subdivisions, won $100 in a contest sponsored by the Springfield Improvement Association. He or she – the winner, one of 570 entrants, asked to remain anonymous – promptly donated … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Industry | 7 Comments

Fred R. Coats Co.

Posted on September 13, 2019 by editor

This entry has been updated and expanded. Fred R. Coats deserves to be ranked with Robert Lanphier, John W. Hobbs and the Weaver brothers among Springfield’s top industrialists and innovators. Coats (1865-1951), born in Bennington, N.Y., came to Springfield with … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Industry, Prominent figures | 5 Comments

Hemp in Sangamon County

Posted on July 7, 2019 by editor

Note: This entry has been edited. See below. Long before it was mistakenly confused with marijuana, hemp was, briefly, a big business in Sangamon County. In a lengthy pitch published in the March 23, 1848, Illinois Weekly State Journal, entrepreneur … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Business, Farming, Industry | 2 Comments

Sangamo/Schlumberger Watthour Meter Serial Log

Posted on September 3, 2018 by editor

Hat tip: The following information, designed to help people determine the manufacturing dates of their Sangamo Electric watthour meters, was provided by SangamonLink reader David Dahle. Our thanks to him. Sangamo/Schlumberger watthour meter serial log Year                      Serial Numbers      … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Resources, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Fuel crisis shutdown, 1918

Posted on January 16, 2018 by editor

In January 1918, the federal government told thousands of Sangamon County workers to take the week off. U.S. fuel administrator Harry Garfield on Jan. 17, 1918, ordered most factories east of the Mississippi River to close from Friday, Jan. 18, … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry | Leave a comment