Category Archives: Buildings

Twelve Mile House

Posted on March 22, 2018 by editor

Twelve Mile House was an inn, stagecoach stop and post office in the early 19th century. It later became one of the landmarks used when Illinois officials designed the highway that became Route 66 and then Interstate 55. Where, exactly, … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Early residents, Historic Sites, Hotels & taverns, Maps, Transportation | 3 Comments

Carrie Post King’s Daughters Home for Women

Posted on March 14, 2018 by editor

The Carrie Post King’s Daughters Home for Women opened on Oct. 7, 1895 with five women already in residence, room for four more, and a cow. It also had the support of hundreds of local church women, a unique force … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Prominent figures, Social services, Women | 8 Comments

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

Prince Sanitarium

Posted on January 19, 2018 by editor

The David Prince Sanitarium opened in 1890 as a center for general surgery and eye, ear, nose and throat treatment. By 1978, when the building was demolished, it was a shabby apartment building whose tenants were the respectable (and elderly) … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Medicine | 3 Comments

Patrick Henry statue, St. Joseph School

Posted on September 29, 2017 by editor

The mystery of what happened to St. Joseph School’s statue of Patrick Henry may never be solved. But the question of how a life-sized marble sculpture of a Protestant patriot happened to stand above the entrance of a Catholic school … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Arts and letters, Buildings, Churches, Education, Schools and school districts | 1 Comment

Butternut bakery, Jefferson Street

Posted on August 27, 2017 by editor

George S. Connelly & Co. began baking bread in an L-shaped building surrounding the corner of Second and Jefferson streets in 1913 or 1914. The Springfield area would eat Butternut bread baked there for almost 60 years. George S. Connelly … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Industry, Prominent figures | 5 Comments

‘The rink,’ 1868-71

Posted on June 29, 2017 by editor

This entry has been revised — ed. Springfield’s first ice rink hosted skating contests, floral exhibits, masked balls and the “Knights of the Skate” during its brief existence at Walnut and Monroe streets. “The rink,” as it was simply known, … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Social life, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Lustron all-steel homes

Posted on May 8, 2017 by editor

More than 4,000 people viewed Springfield’s first all-steel Lustron home when it opened for public inspection on June 26, 1949. The demonstration home at 2255 S. College St. was the first of five that eventually were built in Springfield and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings | 13 Comments

Johnston-Hatcher fires, 1907 & 1913

Posted on March 4, 2017 by editor

The Johnston-Hatcher Co. sold home furnishings of all kinds from 1899 to 1949 in downtown Springfield. The store, however, fell victim to two of the city’s most devastating early 20th-century fires. Johnston-Hatcher was the creation of two sets of brothers … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Airport, Amusements, Auto dealers, Buildings, Business, Crime and vice, Disasters, Farming, Fires, Presidents, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | 3 Comments