Category Archives: Sangamon County

The Sangamon country, 1819 (Ferdinand Ernst)

Posted on October 9, 2013 by editor

Ferdinand Ernst (1784?-1822) was a wealthy German farmer who led more than 100 Germans to the United States and founded a short-lived colony in Vandalia. He ventured to the Sangamon country in 1819. This excerpt comes from the Transactions of … Continue reading →

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Sangamon County centennial marker dedication, 1921

Posted on October 9, 2013 by editor

Ten children were the ceremonial participants a century ago, when the Springfield Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution organized a 100th-anniversary commemoration of the founding of Sangamon County. The DAR sponsored the installation of a plaque, mounted on a granite … Continue reading →

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Sangamon County Fair

Posted on October 9, 2013 by editor

Corrected entry; see below — ed. What essentially was the first Sangamon County Fair was an exhibition held Oct. 22, 1835, under sponsorship of the Sangamon County Agricultural Society. Winners at the first show were: John Todd and J.M. Shackleford, … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Amusements, Celebrations, Farming, Maps, Sangamon County | Tagged | 1 Comment

Sangamon County farm memories

Posted on October 9, 2013 by editor

The Audio-Video Barn of the Illinois State Museum was created to collect oral histories about Illinois agriculture. The 130 “Stories from the Barn” include 18 by Sangamon County residents. They can be seen and heard as outlined below. Transcripts (.pdf … Continue reading →

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Sangamon County geology

Posted on October 9, 2013 by editor

Dr. A.R. Crook, curator of the Illinois State Museum of Natural History, analyzed the geology of Sangamon County in a 1912 pamphlet. It included the following description of the soil and rock layers underlying the county down to about 1,700 … Continue reading →

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Col. John Taylor (1828 pioneers)

Posted on October 5, 2013 by editor

Col. John Taylor (1780-1849) was a pioneer merchant, land speculator and Sangamon County official, serving as the county’s first sheriff and as county treasurer during the 1820s. He was one of the four original proprietors of Springfield in 1824, along … Continue reading →

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Township government

Posted on October 5, 2013 by editor

When Sangamon County was organized in 1821, it was governed under the only form of county government the state constitution then permitted. The control of county functions was in the hands of a three-person elected commission, a form of county … Continue reading →

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Berlin

Posted on April 2, 2013 by editor

Founded: When Europeans arrived, three villages of Pottawatomie and Delaware Indians were in the Berlin/New Berlin area. “During the first few years after the first settlers came, the Indians were as numerous as the whites,” reports a New Berlin history in … Continue reading →

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“Sangamon”: Origin of the name

Posted on March 25, 2013 by editor

Sangamon County was named after the Sangamon River, which winds through the county from the east to northwest. For its part, the river apparently got its name from an early French explorer, the Jesuit priest Father Pierre Charlevoix, who traveled … Continue reading →

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Sangamon County, founding of

Posted on March 22, 2013 by editor

Sangamon County was created by an act of the Illinois General Assembly on Jan. 30, 1821. It was subdivided from Madison and Bond counties and at the time was one of only 33 counties in the state (there are now … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Communities, Local government, Sangamon County | Tagged | 3 Comments