Author Archives: editor

Rev. Billious Pond and the Farmington abolitionists

Posted on July 5, 2025 by editor

The Rev. Billious Pond (1781-1874) was the spiritual leader of a band of abolitionists who traveled from Vermont to western Sangamon County in 1833. Local historian Richard Hart compiled their history in his pamphlet Lincoln’s Springfield: the Underground Railroad, published … Continue reading →

Posted in Abolitionism, Churches, Communities, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Henry Stephens: miner, Carl Sandburg muse

Posted on June 28, 2025 by editor

Henry Stephens was an African-American coal miner in central Illinois from the 1890s into the early 20th century. Poet Carl Sandburg talked to Stephens sometime around 1917 and turned Stephens’ thoughts about racism in the mines and the need for … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Arts and letters, Coal mines and mining, Labor unions, Prominent figures, Theaters | Leave a comment

Charles Coe, “Texas immigration agent”

Posted on June 23, 2025 by editor

Charles C. Coe took an unusual approach to his Springfield real estate business: he tried to get people to leave town. Coe  (1860-1926) worked in central Illinois from about 1901 until 1920, billing himself in city directories as “Real Estate … Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Leave a comment

Robert Lincoln’s letter regarding the Lincoln Tomb, 1901 (photos)

Posted on June 13, 2025 by editor

The letter shown here is part of an online exhibit, “The 100 Most Valuable Documents at the Illinois State Archives.” Robert Todd Lincoln, only surviving son of President Abraham Lincoln, wrote it to Gov. Richard Yates Jr. in June 1901, … Continue reading →

Posted in Historic Sites, Illustrations, Lincoln Tomb, Photos and photosets, Presidents, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

2-year-old vanishes, 1950

Posted on June 8, 2025 by editor

The final paragraph of this entry has been corrected. Our thanks to reader Bev P. Two-year-old Earnest Cagle Jr. was asleep when his parents went into Cecil Delay’s bar in Buckhart about 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, 1950. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Law enforcement, Spectacles | 2 Comments

John W. Sturdy, Rochester’s Confederate veteran

Posted on May 31, 2025 by editor

This entry is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in the May 2025 edition of The Prairie Land Buzz Magazine. Copyright Raymond Bruzan. Published with permission. Contributor: Raymond Bruzan A Virginia-born soldier who fought for the Confederacy … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Military, Prominent figures | 3 Comments

First game at Reservoir Park/Robin Roberts Stadium, 1925

Posted on May 26, 2025 by editor

On May 12, 1925, 9,000 people watched the very first baseball game ever played at what today is Robin Roberts Stadium. They filled the grandstand, crowded the foul lines and jammed temporary bleachers erected around the outfield. “Not even on … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Buildings, Celebrations, Sports and recreation | Leave a comment

Henrietta Ulrich, businesswoman

Posted on May 25, 2025 by editor

Henrietta Ulrich, the story goes, sold her fabulous pearl necklace to buy what became the near west side of Springfield. Sadly, the story probably isn’t true. As a young woman, Ulrich (1797-1887) hobnobbed with Russian aristocrats and married into German … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Early residents, Germans, Prominent figures, Women | Leave a comment

Adlai Stevenson’s cat bill veto, 1949

Posted on May 18, 2025 by editor

“Governor Stevenson did no pussyfooting on pussy’s perambulations,” the Chicago Daily News editorialized after Gov. Adlai Stevenson II vetoed what had become known as “the cat bill” on April 23, 1949. The proposal, pushed for years by a one-woman bird … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Illinois capital, Presidential candidates, State government | Leave a comment

‘The Sycamore Sentry’: Memories of Cantrall, 1950s

Posted on May 16, 2025 by editor

(This entry is excerpted from Old Cantrall: The History of a Small Village Carved Out of the Illinois Wilderness, a work-in-progress by Cantrall native Andrew Wasilewski.) “It was a special place during a special time with special people, but it … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Histories | 2 Comments