Category Archives: Prominent figures

Stray dog eradication, 1935

Posted on July 19, 2022 by editor

Hoping to stop a rabies epidemic, authorities declared open season on stray dogs in Sangamon County in 1935. Police and dog catchers killed hundreds of dogs that year in what one Illinois State Journal headline called a “brutal” eradication campaign. … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Journalism, Local government, Media, Medicine, Prominent figures, Public health | Leave a comment

Lincoln Tomb statuary (added 1931)

Posted on July 12, 2022 by editor

The statuettes inside the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site were supposed to be urns. And the Gutzon Borglum bust just outside the tomb – the one people rub the nose of – was supposed to be indoors. The interior of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, Lincoln Tomb, Lincoln, Abraham, Museums, National Register, Presidents, Prominent figures, State government, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

‘Advice to Housekeepers’ (1871)

Posted on June 30, 2022 by editor

“Advice to Housekeepers” is a general introduction to Mrs. Owen’s Illinois Cook Book, compiled and written in 1871 by, apparently, Mary Hurst Owen of Springfield. (Why “apparently”? See below.) Owen (1826-1907) wrote that her  Cook Book was aimed at “middle … Continue reading →

Posted in Family life, Lincoln, Abraham, Prominent figures, Women | 1 Comment

Jerome Leland’s pigeons

Posted on June 24, 2022 by editor

In the early 20th century, Springfield hotel menus often included squab – breast of squab, “royal squab sur canape,” etc. But pigeons (the more common name for squab) made their way into the heart, not the stomach, of Jerome A. … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Animals, Buildings, Farming, Hotels & taverns, Parks, Prominent figures | 3 Comments

Strawbridge-Shepherd House

Posted on June 19, 2022 by editor

Thomas Strawbridge Jr. (1798-1880) was born in County Donegal, Ireland, one of seven children of Thomas and Jane Mitchell Strawbridge. Thomas’ mother died in May 1809, when Thomas was only 11 years old. The year following her death, the Strawbridge … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Architecture, Buildings, Early residents, Farming, Historic Sites, National Register, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

First Black U of I trustee

Posted on June 17, 2022 by editor

John J. Bird became the first African-American trustee of the University of Illinois more than a decade before the school even had any Black students. Bird’s tombstone in Oak Ridge Cemetery doesn’t mention that distinction, but its text does include … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Education, Higher education, Illinois capital, Politics, Prominent figures, State government, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Comer Cox, Urban League leader

Posted on May 12, 2022 by editor

Comer Cox, the namesake of Comer Cox Park in Springfield, was an Alabama native and star athlete in his  youth who went on to lead the Springfield Urban League. Comer Lane Cox was born May 9, 1905, in Athens, Ala. … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Business, Parks, Prominent figures, Social services | 1 Comment

Benjamin Stephenson and the Grand Army of the Republic

Posted on May 9, 2022 by editor

Update: The Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum, mentioned in this entry and featured in photos above and below, closed in 2023. Its collection was moved to the Gen. John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro. Somewhere in Mississippi in … Continue reading →

Posted in Military, Museums, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Joseph McCoy and the McCoy brothers

Posted on April 23, 2022 by editor

Joseph, William and James McCoy, in a sense, created the Wild West. The McCoys, three brothers from Cartwright Township, organized the original cattle drives and turned Abilene, Kansas, into the West’s first great cow town. A giant segment of American … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Business, Prominent figures | 1 Comment

Allen Cigar Store explosion, 1929

Posted on April 18, 2022 by editor

“Springfield’s original optimist” died in a soda fountain explosion on Sept. 7, 1929. Matt Reavley (1879-1929) was an employee and part-owner of Allen Cigar Store, which at the time had operated for 20 years on the northwest corner of Sixth … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life | 7 Comments