Category Archives: Prehistory

‘Wigwam tree’ and sulfur spring, Loami

Posted on September 21, 2016 by editor

The “wigwam tree” was a hollow sycamore near Loami that, according to John Carroll Power in History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County (1876), was once measured at 18 feet in diameter. Power wrote that the tree stood “a … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Early residents, Native Americans, Prehistory | 4 Comments

Birds of Sangamon County

Posted on August 28, 2015 by editor

A 40-year study by Illinois State Museum ornithologist H. David Bohlen found 359 different species of birds in Sangamon County. However, Bohlen warns in his report, published online by the museum in 2013, that increasing human population has badly reduced … Continue reading →

Posted in Prehistory, Resources, Science | Leave a comment

The Payne Stone Age Collection

Posted on July 18, 2014 by editor

Edward W. Payne (1857-1932), a Springfield banker and property investor, amassed a huge collection of stone relics — most, though not all, from pre-Columbian America — with the intention of building a museum to house them. At his death, however, … Continue reading →

Posted in Depression, Historic Sites, Museums, Native Americans, Prehistory, Prominent figures, State government | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

William and Margaret Carpenter

Posted on October 31, 2013 by editor

Carpenter Park and Carpenter Street are among legacies of the family of William (1787-1859) and Margaret Carpenter (1803-33), who moved to Sangamon County from Virginia in 1820. The family first built a cabin north of the Sangamon River and eventually … Continue reading →

Posted in Early residents, Mills, Prehistory, Prominent figures, Sangamon River, Transportation | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Groves

Posted on October 26, 2013 by editor

Groves of mature hardwood trees figured frequently in the history of Sangamon County. Robert Pulliam, considered the first European inhabitant of  the county, set up his first encampment in a grove of sugar maples on what became known as Sugar … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Early residents, Historic Sites, Illinois capital, Parks, Prehistory, Soil | Leave a comment

The Kickapoo

Posted on October 21, 2013 by editor

When Europeans began moving into Central Illinois in the early 1800s, the Kickapoo were the dominant Native American tribe, holding sway from north of present-day Peoria to near St. Louis and east to west across Illinois. “I am a Kickapoo,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Early residents, Native Americans, Prehistory | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lincoln Memorial Garden and Nature Center

Posted on October 16, 2013 by editor

Envisioned by Harriet Knudson in 1936, Lincoln Memorial Garden was created as a living memorial to Abraham Lincoln, representing “the landscape … Lincoln would have known growing up and living in the Midwest.” The 100-acre garden on the banks of … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, First Citizens, Parks, Prehistory, Prominent figures, Social services, Women | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Sangamo Township

Posted on October 9, 2013 by editor

Before Sangamon County was created in January 1821, its territory was divided between Madison and Bond counties (mostly in Madison). Between the arrival of the first settler in 1817 and the ultimate formation of the county in 1821, a significant … Continue reading →

Posted in Early residents, Local government, Native Americans, Prehistory, Resources, Sangamon County, Springfield | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sangamon Stage

Posted on October 8, 2013 by editor

The Sangamon Stage is a geological term used to designate one of the intervals between the successive advances of glacial ice across the landscape of North America. Also known as the Sangamon Interglacial, the period is so named because the … Continue reading →

Posted in Prehistory, Soil, Uncategorized | Leave a comment