Author Archives: editor

Leland Farm (1880)

Posted on August 25, 2021 by editor

The Leland Farm, 600-some acres on what today is Springfield’s near west side, supplied the Leland Hotel with the freshest of food for decades. The hotel operated at Sixth Street and Capitol Avenue from 1867 until 1970 (not counting a … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Business, Hotels & taverns, Restaurants | 3 Comments

Rees Memorial Carillon

Posted on August 22, 2021 by editor

Before the Springfield Park Board could build a carillon in Washington Park, it had to answer two questions: how many bells would it hold, and what kind would they be? When newspaper publisher Thomas Rees died in 1933, he left … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Communications, Journalism, Local government, Parks, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Early ‘base ball’: Libertys lose to Rockford, 101-13 (1869)

Posted on August 11, 2021 by editor

The hometown Liberty Base Ball Club didn’t expect to beat the Rockford Forest Citys when the celebrated Rockford team visited Springfield in 1869. City-versus-city match games were social events as much as athletic contests at the time. But that 1869 … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Social life, Sports and recreation | 1 Comment

The Who at the Illinois State Fair, 1968

Posted on August 8, 2021 by editor

The amplifiers were set to top-end at the Illinois State Fair Grandstand on the evening of Aug. 9, 1968. Performing that night were Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon, better known as the Who. From their dressing … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Illinois State Fair, Social life | 10 Comments

‘Bird Lady’: A Lithuanian immigrant mother’s life in Springfield

Posted on August 3, 2021 by editor

On the day in 1912 when 16-year-old Mary Ann Yezdauskas arrived in Springfield from Lithuania, her brother took her to the elegant Bressmer’s Department Store to buy a new coat. Then the sister and brother posed together in their finery … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal mines and mining, Family life, Lithuanians, Lithuanians, Women | 10 Comments

Sangamon County and Springfield, 1847 (J.H. Buckingham)

Posted on July 27, 2021 by editor

In the summer of 1847, writer J.H. Buckingham traveled by stagecoach between Peoria and Springfield in the company of “two members of Congress from the state of Illinois, one Whig and one Locofoco.” The Whig was Abraham Lincoln. Here is … Continue reading →

Posted in Histories, Sangamon County, Springfield | 1 Comment

First state police officer

Posted on July 24, 2021 by editor

When officers of the fledgling Illinois Highway Patrol lined up in full regalia in 1923, J. Frank Nuckolls of Auburn wore one of the patrol’s brand-new badges on his chest. He had a big job ahead of him. The highway … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Dr. Don Deal, surgeon and visionary

Posted on July 20, 2021 by editor

In the 1920s, Dr. Don Deal correctly predicted Springfield’s reinvention as a medical center. Springfield’s medical establishment “draws from a larger surrounding territory, in proportion to its population, than any other city in the United States,” Deal told fellow members … Continue reading →

Posted in Medicine, Prominent figures, Public health, Science, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Hottest day in Springfield history

Posted on July 12, 2021 by editor

Blazing-hot weather killed two people, one an infant, in July 1954, and Springfield recorded its highest temperature ever – either 112 or 113.8 degrees, depending on which thermometer you followed  – on July 14, 1954. The heat was compounded by … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Local government, Public health, Sangamon River | Leave a comment

Fourth of July, 1921

Posted on July 4, 2021 by editor

Springfield residents celebrated the Fourth of July 100 years ago with picnics, sports and reenactment of the World War I battle of Chateau Thierry. There was no single community fireworks show, but a showy sunset, caused by a dust and … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Military, Social life, Spectacles | Leave a comment