Monthly Archives: December 2013

Brother James Court

Brother James Court is an intermediate-care institution for developmentally disabled men. The facility formerly was St. James Trade School. 

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St. James Trade School (closed high schools)

St. James Trade School trained boys, originally orphans, for such jobs as mechanic, baker, the building trades, butcher and others from 1930 until 1972. St. James was a boarding school from 1930 to 1963 and then became a day school. … Continue reading

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Brother James Court

Brother James Court is an intermediate care home for mentally disabled men. The facility previously was St. James Trade School. 

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St. James Trade School

St. James Trade School trained boys, originally orphans, for such jobs as mechanic, baker, the building trades, butcher and others from 1928 until 1972. St. James was a boarding school from 1930 to 1963 and then became a day school. … Continue reading

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Emmet Pearson

Dr. Emmet Pearson, a Springfield physician, was instrumental in the restoration of what now is the Broadwell Inn/Clayville Historic Site. He was named Springfield’s First Citizen in 1992, partly because of his historic preservation activities. See Broadwell Inn.

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Howard B. Austin

Howard B. Austin (1886-1962) was Illinois’ unofficial poet laureate for 36 years. See Sangamon County poets.

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Sangamon County poets

For a time in the early 20th century, central Illinois was famed across the country as the home of important poets, writers who were inventing new forms of verse that spoke in the voices of a new age. If it … Continue reading

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Research sources

While this list includes some of the more useful local history resources, it is by no means a complete catalog. Additional suggestions are welcome. Offline  Sangamon Valley Collection, third floor, Lincoln Library, Springfield. Vertical files organized topically, past city directories, … Continue reading

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St. Agatha School

St. Agatha School was a school for girls operated from 1884 to 1905 by the Springfield Episcopal Diocese in the 500 block of South Second Street. See Elizabeth and Ninian Edwards home.

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Fire escape hazards, 1914 (Springfield Survey photo)

The Springfield Survey was a massive study of local schools, prisons, and other institutions undertaken in 1914 by the Russell Sage Foundation with the help of hundreds of local volunteers. Topics covered included schools, care of “mental defectives, the insane … Continue reading

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