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Monthly Archives: February 2022
Louie Mitchell, pioneer aviator
Louis “Louie” Mitchell not only was one of America’s first air pilots; at 210 pounds, he also was the heaviest. Mitchell had no connection to Sangamon County in life, but his final resting place is in Oak Ridge Cemetery’s Abbey … Continue reading
Posted in Air travel, Transportation
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U.S. Grant marches to Island Grove, 1861
In 1927, Benjamin Warfield Brown, the son of agricultural pioneer James N. Brown, published a short memory of then-Col. U.S. Grant’s 1861 visit to the Brown family farm in western Sangamon County. The visit turned out to be, literally, part … Continue reading
James N. Brown, founder of Illinois State Fair
James N. Brown helped create the Republican Party in Illinois. He bred famous shorthorn cattle on a showplace farm that stretched across Sangamon and Morgan counties. He was the second person (behind Cyrus McCormick, but ahead of Jonathan Baldwin Turner … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Animals, Early residents, Environment, Farming, Prominent figures
2 Comments
First parking meters (1941)
Confusion, reluctance and a little apprehension were Springfieldians’ responses to the city’s first parking meters. The Illinois State Journal described their debut in its Oct. 24, 1941, edition. Springfield entered a new era of streamlined parking control yesterday as nearly … Continue reading
First traffic signals (1924)
Struggling with out-of-control auto traffic downtown, Springfield decided in 1924 to experiment with traffic signals. Officials chose the intersection of Sixth and Monroe streets for the city’s first set of stop-and-go lights. They started working Nov. 5, 1924. One set … Continue reading
Posted in Law enforcement, Local government, Transportation
4 Comments
Springfield Auto Club ‘safety lanes’
Fifteen hundred motorists pulled their vehicles through the Springfield Automobile Club’s free “safety lane” on the south side of the downtown square in April 1930. Some did it twice. Safety lanes were a nationwide initiative of the American Automobile Association, … Continue reading
Posted in Auto dealers, Business, Transportation
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