Monthly Archives: February 2018

Leander Shoup

Posted on February 21, 2018 by editor

Leander Shoup vowed to go down fighting rather than give up his farm for inundation by Lake Springfield. See Lake Springfield holdout, 1933.

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Austin Jones

Posted on February 21, 2018 by editor

Austin Jones was a Springfield police officer and detective for 26 years. For more, see Lake Springfield holdout, 1933.

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Lake Springfield holdout, 1933

Posted on February 21, 2018 by editor

Leander Shoup vowed to go down in a blaze of gunfire rather than relinquish his 123 acres of farmland to inundation by Lake Springfield. The city of Springfield won a lawsuit to take over the land, a little over a … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Farming, Law enforcement, Local government, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

The Helmle family, architects and builders

Posted on February 19, 2018 by editor

Three generations of the Helmle family left their mark on the built environment of Springfield. The original Helmles in Springfield were George William Helmle, a skilled woodcarver from Germany, and his wife, Elise Marschutz Helmle, who arrived in Springfield in … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Business, Prominent figures | 11 Comments

C.W. Hotz (hotel operator)

Posted on February 11, 2018 by editor

C.W. Hotz and his wife Hazel managed the Argus Hotel, 214 S. Fourth St., for several years in the 1930s. Hotz also was a Lincoln collector and property developer. See First Lincoln Home.

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Argus Hotel, 214 S. Fourth St.

Posted on February 11, 2018 by editor

The Argus Hotel was the longest-lasting of several hotels that operated between 1895 and 1985 at 214 S. Fourth St. See First Lincoln Home.

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The first Lincoln home (214 S. Fourth St.)

Posted on February 11, 2018 by editor

Immediately after their marriage on Nov. 4, 1842, Abraham and Mary Lincoln rented a single room at the Globe Tavern, 315 E. Adams St. In the fall of 1843, following the birth at the Globe of their son Robert, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Hotels & taverns, Illustrations, Lincoln, Abraham, Markers | 3 Comments

Douglass Community Center

Posted on February 6, 2018 by editor

The Douglass Community Center offered civic, social and educational opportunities to African-American residents of Springfield when most similar organizations were closed to blacks. The Douglass center (apparently named after abolitionist Frederick Douglass) opened in 1926. It was phased out as … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Buildings, Children, Ethnic groups, Local government, Social life, Social services, Sports and recreation | Leave a comment

Z.W. Mitchell, African-American activist

Posted on February 3, 2018 by editor

Zedekiah “Z.W.” Mitchell, though a resident of Springfield for only a few years, was the controversial leader of the movement that eventually created the city’s Douglass Community Center, a social and cultural agency that served African-Americans for 30 years. See … Continue reading →

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Centennial Co-Operative Educational Congress, 1918

Posted on February 3, 2018 by editor

Black Springfieldians observed Illinois’ 100th anniversary in 1918 with a three-day conference examining the status, progress and prospects of the state’s African-American community. Some 3,000 people attended the Centennial Co-Operative Educational Congress, held Sept. 22-24, 1918, at the Illinois State … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Prominent figures, Social services | Leave a comment