Category Archives: Disasters

Flu epidemic, 1918-20

Posted on February 28, 2016 by editor

Health officials closed churches, schools and theaters, barred street gatherings and set up a special hospital at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, but the influenza epidemic of 1918 nonetheless killed more than 500 county residents. Second and third waves of flu appeared … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Medicine, Military, Public health | 10 Comments

Pawnee High School fire, 1958

Posted on November 8, 2015 by editor

Pawnee High School was demolished by a fire on Feb. 24, 1958, that was ignited by a student attempting to break into the school’s vault. Frank Carlos Ewing Jr., 15, admitted to Sangamon County sheriff’s investigators that he broke into … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Communities, Crime and vice, Disasters, Education, Law enforcement | 13 Comments

Sangamon Ordnance Plant

Posted on July 7, 2015 by editor

Dozens of seemingly out-of-place structures dot farm fields west of Illiopolis, the last reminders of what once was one of the U.S.’s largest producers of World War II artillery ammunition. From 1942 to 1945, the Sangamon Ordnance Plant produced 24 … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Agriculture, Buildings, Communities, Disasters, Industry, Military, Transportation, Women | 44 Comments

Fire devastates east side of Auburn square, 1910

Posted on March 19, 2015 by editor

A fire that destroyed the entire east side of the Auburn town square early on March 16, 1910, was described in the March 18 edition of the Auburn Citizen. Here is the Citizen’s story.  Auburn has costly fire At about … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Disasters | Leave a comment

Chinchilla rescue, 1957

Posted on February 25, 2015 by editor

Springfield firefighters in 1957 saved 72 comatose chinchillas via what sounds like a form of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The chinchillas were being raised in cages next to a garage at 722 S. 25th St., home of a business called the Capitol … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters | Tagged | Leave a comment

Elm devastation, 1940s

Posted on December 23, 2014 by editor

The malady that killed thousands of Sangamon County’s elm trees in the late 1940s wasn’t the dreaded Dutch elm disease. It was worse. The Illinois State Journal sounded the first alarm in its Aug. 3, 1945 edition: “Elm attacked by … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Local government | Leave a comment

Harry Loper (Springfield race riot)

Posted on September 7, 2014 by editor

Harry Loper, a successful white restaurateur, owned one of the few motorcars in Springfield in 1908. So when Sangamon County Sheriff Charles Werner wanted to move two black accused murderers out of the county jail before a white mob stormed the facility, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Disasters, Local government, Prominent figures, Race riot of 1908, Restaurants | Leave a comment

Explosion on North Seventh Street, 1937

Posted on September 4, 2014 by editor

Authorities blamed a Springfield arson ring for a massive explosion that destroyed two north-end houses and damaged dozens of others on March 17, 1937. Eight people were charged with arson and insurance fraud in the case. But the main defendant … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Disasters, Law enforcement | Tagged | 1 Comment

Weather disasters

Posted on March 5, 2014 by editor

Memorable weather disasters populate a number of Sangamon County histories and reminiscences. Here are some of the most notable, as outlined in a talk to the Sangamon County Historical Society on Jan. 20, 2014 by Curtis Mann of Lincoln Library’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Early residents | Leave a comment

Loami

Posted on November 22, 2013 by editor

Europeans first moved into what now is Loami Township in 1819, but the village of Loami didn’t get its start until William and Ebenezer Colburn erected a steam saw and grist mill there in 1836. A settlement grew up around the … Continue reading →

Posted in Communities, Disasters, Mills | 8 Comments