Category Archives: National Register

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 | Leave a comment

Auburn Brick Road

Posted on October 11, 2021 by editor

An empty stretch of highway near Auburn might be Sangamon County’s most obscure historic site. The Auburn Brick Road, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, draws what few visitors it does because it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Historic Sites, National Register, Transportation | Leave a comment

St. Nicholas Hotel early days

Posted on April 17, 2021 by editor

J. Emil Smith, editor, publisher and columnist for the Illinois State Journal, wrote the following memory of the early St. Nicholas Hotel on Nov. 28, 1943, a few days before the McCreery family relinquished ownership. The McCreerys had operated the … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Historic Sites, Hotels & taverns, National Register, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Old Capitol restoration, 1960s

Posted on October 27, 2020 by editor

Before the Old State Capitol was restored to the way it looked in the 1850s, the building housed Springfield’s public restrooms. You could tell by the odor. Earl “Wally” Henderson (1931-2016), co-founder with Don Ferry of the Ferry & Henderson … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, First Citizens, Historic Sites, Illinois capital, Local government, Museums, National Register, Prominent figures, Sangamon County, State government | Leave a comment

Brinkerhoff Home

Posted on January 24, 2020 by editor

The Brinkerhoff Home, which in 2020 sat buttoned-up and unused on the former campus of Benedictine University Springfield, was designed in the 1860s by Elijah E. Myers, who would go on to be one of 19th-century America’s best known, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, National Register, Prominent figures | 9 Comments

Illinois State Fairgrounds Coliseum

Posted on December 29, 2016 by editor

The Illinois State Fairgrounds Coliseum was a huge hit when it first opened to fairgoers in 1901. But not huge enough, because the building had to be substantially expanded only two years later. The Coliseum was designed in 1901 by … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, National Register, State government | 8 Comments

Lincoln Home neighborhood in 1971 (Nelson Howarth)

Posted on February 11, 2015 by editor

Nelson Howarth, with only a week to go in his third and final term as mayor of Springfield, testified in April 1971 before the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Parks and Recreation in support of designating the Lincoln Home neighborhood … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Historic Sites, Lincoln Home, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Museums, National Register, Parks, Presidents, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

The Historic Preservation Association of Springfield

Posted on December 19, 2014 by editor

Note: This post has been revised by the author. By the middle 1980s, the preservation of historically and architecturally significant buildings had become the subject of growing attention in Springfield. This attention reflected national trends, as well as regret over … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Historic Sites, Local government, National Register, Springfield | 3 Comments

Lincoln Tomb: Statuary and symbolism

Posted on November 18, 2014 by editor

This entry is a lightly edited version of a presentation given by Mark Johnson, historian for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, to the 2014 volunteer dinner hosted by the now-defunct Lincoln Monument Association, a non-profit support group for the Lincoln … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Arts and letters, Historic Sites, Lincoln Tomb, Lincoln, Abraham, Military, National Register | 3 Comments

Wheeland Haven, Riverton

Posted on June 25, 2014 by editor

In the early 1900s, in the midst of coal mines and cornfields east of Riverton, was a 17-acre oasis of beauty — Wheeland Haven, the home of Olive Black Wheeland and her husband Cyrus. Cyrus Wheeland was a farmer, grain … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, National Register, Parks, Prominent figures, Women | 15 Comments