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Blogroll
Category Archives: Agriculture
Chinch bugs, 1934
Chinch bugs plowed through Sangamon County cornfields in 1934. Combined with a miserable springtime drought, the infestation drove corn yields statewide to their lowest figure – 20.5 bushels per acre – since 1866. Chinch bugs, tiny bugs that propagate in … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Disasters, Farming, Science, Soil, Weather
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Machinery Hall collapse, 1895
Two workmen died in the state’s rush to develop the new home of the Illinois State Fair in 1895. Springfield was named the permanent site of the fair in 1894, and the Exposition Building was constructed by September of that … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Architecture, Buildings, Disasters, Illinois State Fair
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John D. Waters and Highland Farms
John D. Waters built a livestock empire in eastern Sangamon County. He also built a mansion south of Dawson that was known for, among other things, the large meteorite that adorned the front yard. “He was one of the best … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Business, Family life, Farming, Prominent figures
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Jerome Leland’s pigeons
In the early 20th century, Springfield hotel menus often included squab – breast of squab, “royal squab sur canape,” etc. But pigeons (the more common name for squab) made their way into the heart, not the stomach, of Jerome A. … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Animals, Buildings, Farming, Hotels & taverns, Parks, Prominent figures
3 Comments
Strawbridge-Shepherd House
Thomas Strawbridge Jr. (1798-1880) was born in County Donegal, Ireland, one of seven children of Thomas and Jane Mitchell Strawbridge. Thomas’ mother died in May 1809, when Thomas was only 11 years old. The year following her death, the Strawbridge … Continue reading
Making bread, 1819
Even the most necessary tasks were a struggle for the first European residents of Sangamon County. Take baking bread, for instance, as described in the History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County (1876) by John Carroll Power (1819-94); the … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Early residents, Farming, Histories, Mills, Uncategorized
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Joseph McCoy and the McCoy brothers
Joseph, William and James McCoy, in a sense, created the Wild West. The McCoys, three brothers from Cartwright Township, organized the original cattle drives and turned Abilene, Kansas, into the West’s first great cow town. A giant segment of American … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Business, Prominent figures
1 Comment
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
Leland Farm (1880)
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
Klever’s Model controversy (‘the hog case’)
The world of Poland China swine revolved around Williamsville in the 1890s, thanks to stockman George G. Council and his prize boar, Klever’s Model. When Council (1864-1944) put Klever’s Model up for sale in 1897, a syndicate made up of … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Animals, Farming, Prominent figures
3 Comments