Category Archives: Arts and letters

Springfield hotels turn away Black singing group, 1881

Springfield hotels refused to house America’s best-known Black choral group in 1881. The result was nationwide condemnation, a rebuke from President James A. Garfield, and a scramble by embarrassed local residents to repair the city’s reputation. The group was the … Continue reading

Posted in Abolitionism, African Americans, Amusements, Arts and letters, Hotels & taverns, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, Social life | 3 Comments

Pillsbury ‘Doughboy’ origin debate (updated, April 2023)

UPDATE (April 2023) Chris Richmond of Moving Pillsbury Forward said in April 2023 that further research determined the “Bicep Doughboy” was created by Pillsbury itself in July 1981. However, Richmond wrote, the possibility remains that the original creator of the … Continue reading

Posted in Arts and letters, Business, Industry | 1 Comment

The Lemon Jelly Cake (Madeline Babcock Smith)

Madeline Babcock Smith earned her spot in the literary limelight. But she never got to enjoy it. Smith’s first novel, The Lemon Jelly Cake, published Aug. 4, 1952, “enjoyed an immediate and astounding success,” Dan Guillory wrote in his introduction … Continue reading

Posted in Arts and letters, Children, Communities, Crime and vice, Family life, Media, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

The Krehbiel murals (Illinois Supreme Court)

The first public art Albert Krehbiel created apparently was on the buggies, carriages and delivery wagons his father manufactured in Iowa. His most famous works, however, are the 13 allegorical murals that decorate the Illinois Supreme Court Building in Springfield. … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Architecture, Arts and letters, Buildings, Illinois capital, State government | Leave a comment

New Dennis Williams portrait (a detective story)

This entry has been updated. See below. Dennis Williams was a rarity in 1880s Springfield: a successful African American artist and businessman. Only a few examples of his art are known to exist today. Now there’s one more, thanks to … Continue reading

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Dennis Williams, crayon artist

  This entry, originally written in 2013, was greatly expanded and corrected in 2021, thanks to the research of Mary Frances of Springfield. See “Contributor” note at end. Update: There is an update to this entry. See New Dennis Williams … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Arts and letters, Business, Prominent figures | 2 Comments

Savillah Hinrichsen, librarian and suffragist

When William “Buck” Hinrichsen took office as Illinois secretary of state in 1893, he appointed his sister, Savillah Hinrichsen, as assistant state librarian. The term “assistant,” however, was misleading – the secretary of state is also titularly the state librarian, … Continue reading

Posted in Arts and letters, Prominent figures, State government, Women | Leave a comment

Chatterton Opera House roof collapse, 1887

There was no audience inside when the roof of the Chatterton Opera House collapsed on Aug. 9, 1887. “The blue sky is now the only covering that shelters the auditorium of the once beautiful interior,” the Illinois State Journal reported. … Continue reading

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Fairview, home of William H. Herndon

The property where William Herndon compiled much of his biography of Abraham Lincoln never became a state park, but part of the house where Herndon worked still overlooks the Sangamon River north of Springfield. Herndon (1818-91) was Lincoln’s third and … Continue reading

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Lincoln, Abraham, Oak Ridge signs, Prominent figures, State government | 5 Comments

Theodore Lorch, actor

Theodore Lorch, who spent his teenage years in Springfield, was a film and stage actor whose busy career spanned the 1900s through the 1940s. Although he had leading roles in such movies as the 1920 version of “Last of the … Continue reading

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