Category Archives: Business

Bunn-O-Matic Corp.

Posted on October 31, 2013 by editor

George Regan Bunn (1915-2002), while managing the Capitol Wholesale Grocery Co. in the mid-1950s, started a division dedicated to coffee brewing equipment. In 1957, he perfected the world’s first flat-bottomed fluted paper coffee filter, a step that revolutionized coffee brewing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Prominent figures | 4 Comments

Business Men’s Association

Posted on October 31, 2013 by editor

See Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

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Jabez Capps (1828 pioneers)

Posted on October 31, 2013 by editor

Jabez Capps (1796-1896), one of several energetic siblings who made their marks in both the U.S. and England, was a prominent merchant between 1819, when he arrived in Sangamon County, until 1836, when he moved away and helped found the … Continue reading →

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Carpenter’s Mill

Posted on October 30, 2013 by editor

Carpenter’s Mill, a saw and grist mill, was built in 1845 near where modern Business Route 55 crosses the Sangamon River south of Sherman. The rock cut where the old road went through the bluff is still visible. The mill … Continue reading →

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Chapman Laundry

Posted on October 30, 2013 by editor

The Edwards & Chapman Laundry was founded in 1905 by H.C. “Kelly” Edwards (1872-1938) and Alvin Chapman (1873-1958) and grew rapidly, moving into its own specially constructed building in the 100 block  of West Cook Street in 1908. The 26,500-square-foot … Continue reading →

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Chili (‘chilli’) in Springfield

Posted on October 30, 2013 by editor

Springfield’s idiosyncratic two-L spelling of the dish that goes elsewhere by the spelling “chili” was institutionalized when Joe Bockelmann and Thomas McNerney opened The Dew Chilli Parlor in 1909. Although The Dew apparently was the first restaurant to spell it … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Prominent figures, Restaurants | 37 Comments

Citizens Improvement Association

Posted on October 30, 2013 by editor

The Springfield Citizens Improvement Association was formed in 1889. See Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

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Clark’s Mill

Posted on October 30, 2013 by editor

Clark’s Mill was on the South Fork of the Sangamon River near Rochester. The Clark brothers, Edward and Phillip, came to the United States from England with the express purpose of building a watermill. They arrived in Sangamon County in … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Mills | 3 Comments

Commercial Association

Posted on October 30, 2013 by editor

The Springfield Commercial Association was formed by the merger of the Springfield Business Men’s Association and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce in 1910. See Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

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Courthouse and Marine Bank, 1860 (drawing)

Posted on October 29, 2013 by editor

The Sangamon County Courthouse (left) and the Marine Fire and Insurance Co., on the east side of what is now the Old Capitol Plaza, in an 1860 lithograph. (Source: Here I Have Lived, Paul Angle; reprinted in Aristocracy Hill survey … Continue reading →

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