Category Archives: Photos and photosets

‘The Story of a Watch,’ Illinois Watch Co. silent movie, 1922

Springfield’s Illinois Watch Co. stars in “The Story of a Watch,” a remarkable silent film made in 1922. The Rothacker Film Production Co. of Chicago, which specialized in non-theatrical industrial and advertising films, produced the 52-minute movie. It shows how … Continue reading

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Homer Ellis, photographer (Springfield Survey)

Research by SangamonLink may have solved a minor historical mystery: the name of the photographer whose images illustrate the 1914 Springfield Survey. The survey was a massive study of the city’s economic, cultural, charitable and municipal institutions, an effort so … Continue reading

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Women’s golf, 1899

“A crowd of young society women in 1899 shocked the conventions of the day by reckless indulgence in a game called golf,” the Illinois State Journal recalled in 1931. Most of that sentence was nonsense. There’s no evidence anyone was … Continue reading

Posted in Amusements, Media, Parks, Photos and photosets, Prominent figures, Social life, Sports and recreation, Women | Leave a comment

Boys’ Week parade, 1922

Boys’ Week 1922 culminated May 5 with a mile-long parade through downtown Springfield. Boy Scouts, who had “governed” the city the entire week before, led the march, which also involved non-Scouts from every local school, public and private, joined by … Continue reading

Posted in Celebrations, Children, Local government, Photos and photosets, Social life, Spectacles | Leave a comment

Doc Helm, photographer

Eddie Winfred “Doc” Helm, whose striking photographs documented African-American life in Springfield for 50 years, started his career as the man responsible for raising and lowering the flag over the Illinois Statehouse. Helm (1911-94), who grew up in Mount Vernon, … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Business, Media, Photos and photosets, Prominent figures, Social life, State government | 2 Comments

Delmonico Restaurant (photo)

  The Delmonico Restaurant operated from about 1898 to 1905 at 126 N. Fifth St. in Springfield. Although the name didn’t change over the period, the operators did. The Delmonico’s first owner apparently was William A. Stone, who ran the … Continue reading

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Last Springfield street car, 1938 (photos)

The last Springfield street car ran on the North Fifth Street route the evening of Jan. 1, 1938, leaving city streets thereafter to automobiles and Springfield Transportation Co. buses. The North Fifth street car went from Fifth and Monroe streets … Continue reading

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Windstorm hits Auburn mine, 1911

A violent windstorm demolished the headworks of the Solomon Mine south of Auburn on July 11, 1911, killing one man and injuring several more. The Illinois State Register covered the devastation: The storm approached Auburn from the northeast and all … Continue reading

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Disasters, Photos and photosets | Leave a comment

Divernon school photos, 1920s

The above photos of Divernon school students were provided by John Faber. Students’ identifications (except for a few relatives of Mr. Faber) are not available. Divernon opened its first school in 1887, but school enrollment began to jump after the … Continue reading

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Communities, Education, Photos and photosets, Schools and school districts | 1 Comment

‘Lawsonomy’ in Springfield

Lawsonomy was the general term for a system of philosophy, physics and economics created and promoted by an ex-baseball player and aircraft developer named Alfred W. Lawson (1869-1954). Lawsonomy’s political and economic offshoot was the Direct Credits Society, which, according … Continue reading

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