Category Archives: Business

Joseph McCoy and the McCoy brothers

Posted on April 23, 2022 by editor

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

Allen Cigar Store explosion, 1929

Posted on April 18, 2022 by editor

“Springfield’s original optimist” died in a soda fountain explosion on Sept. 7, 1929. Matt Reavley (1879-1929) was an employee and part-owner of Allen Cigar Store, which at the time had operated for 20 years on the northwest corner of Sixth … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life | 7 Comments

The Booker’s Tavern corner (11th and South Grand)

Posted on April 11, 2022 by editor

“Squire Butler is Dead”, proclaimed a headline in the April 12, 1902, Illinois State Journal. “George H. Butler, familiarly known as ‘Squire’ Butler, was a character in the neighborhood of his home at 1124 South Grand avenue, east,” the Journal … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Social life | 2 Comments

Springfield Auto Club ‘safety lanes’

Posted on February 5, 2022 by editor

Fifteen hundred motorists pulled their vehicles through the Springfield Automobile Club’s free “safety lane” on the south side of the downtown square in April 1930. Some did it twice. Safety lanes were a nationwide initiative of the American Automobile Association, … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Business, Transportation | Leave a comment

First parking ramp (1963)

Posted on November 10, 2021 by editor

The space age hasn’t been kind to Springfield’s first parking ramp. The 450-car, $725,000 ramp opened to the public on March 17, 1963. The “gala open house” included free coffee, Coke or Bubble-Up and a Mel-O-Cream donut for every person … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Business, Local government, Prominent figures, Springfield, Transportation | Leave a comment

Pike’s Peak Ocean to Ocean Trail

Posted on November 1, 2021 by editor

Back when Illinois highways had names, not numbers, the Pike’s Peak Trail brought tourists, and their dollars, to central Illinois. The trail (full name “Pike’s Peak Ocean to Ocean Trail,” often abbreviated PP-OO or PPOO) was cobbled together from bits … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Maps, Transportation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

First burial of a Japanese

Posted on October 25, 2021 by editor

Johei “Joe” Okuhara probably was the first ethnic Japanese to be buried in Springfield, and his also may have been the first Muslim funeral. However, his friends wanted the city to know, he did not live – or die – … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Ethnic groups, Japanese, Media, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Poston Brick & Concrete Co.

Posted on October 1, 2021 by editor

Brickyards sprouted in Springfield almost as soon as European settlers reached Sangamon County, but the longest-lived was Poston Brick & Concrete Co., which operated on South Grand Avenue for almost 60 years. “Nature was in a most generous mood when … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Soil, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

R.F. Herndon & Co. (dry goods, women’s clothing)

Posted on September 21, 2021 by editor

R.F. Herndon & Co. sold dry goods, women’s clothing and hats for more than 130 years in Springfield. Herndon’s operated the first horseless delivery vehicle in Springfield, and its third location featured one of Springfield’s first passenger elevators, an innovation … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Department stores, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

First passenger elevator (1876)

Posted on September 19, 2021 by editor

What apparently was Sangamon County’s first passenger elevator was installed at a dry-goods store, Kimber & Ragsdale, on the south side of today’s Old Capitol Plaza, in 1876. Kimber & Ragsdale, owned by W.F. Kimber (1836-1911) and Thomas Ragsdale (1812-92), … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Business, Department stores | 1 Comment