Category Archives: Historic Sites

The Town House

Posted on October 5, 2013 by editor

The Town House, a condominium building at 718-20 S. Seventh St., was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 partly for its architectural distinction and partly because of its historic import as one of the few urban-style … Continue reading →

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Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dana-Thomas House

Posted on April 26, 2013 by editor

The Dana-Thomas House, designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was built at 301 E. Lawrence Ave. for Springfield hostess Susan Lawrence Dana. Dana gave Wright his first “open checkbook” commission, and the result, as described by the Springfield Historic Sites … Continue reading →

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Bullard & Bullard: Leading architects

Posted on April 23, 2013 by editor

The architectural Bullard family, founded by Samuel A. Bullard (1853-1926), designed many of Springfield’s most prominent late 19th-century churches, schools, and public buildings. It and the firm of Helmle & Helmle are considered the most successful and most accomplished of … Continue reading →

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Pleasant Plains

Posted on April 21, 2013 by editor

The first Europeans settled near what is now Pleasant Plains about 1819, and a “Mr. Spillars” was operating a horse-powered grist mill by almost the same time. From the 1830s to the 1850s, a stagecoach line connected Springfield to Beardstown, and … Continue reading →

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Edwards Place: Center of social life

Posted on April 18, 2013 by editor

In 1833, Dr. Thomas Houghan, an early Springfield physician, built a 1½-story brick house in a 14-acre grove of elm, walnut, and maple trees on the northern edge of Springfield. The home, greatly altered over the years, now is the … Continue reading →

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Illinois State Armory

Posted on April 15, 2013 by editor

The Illinois State Armory at 107-11 E. Monroe St. in Springfield was built in 1936 to replace the State Arsenal, which previously stood on the site but had been destroyed in an arson fire. The new Armory was equipped with what was … Continue reading →

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Jameson Jenkins

Posted on April 13, 2013 by editor

(Alternative spellings: Jamieson Jenkins, Jimison Jarkins) Jameson Jenkins (1810?-1873) was an African American drayman – a carter or teamster – in Springfield from the late 1840s through the 1860s. He was a neighbor of the Lincoln family and was active … Continue reading →

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Rochester

Posted on April 12, 2013 by editor

Prior to European settlement, Rochester Township was one of the most heavily wooded sections of Sangamon County, and as a result, became one of the earliest areas to be settled. The first permanent European resident was probably James McCoy, who … Continue reading →

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Sherman

Posted on April 12, 2013 by editor

James Sayles built a home on the current site of Sherman in 1819. However, the village wasn’t platted until 1858, after construction of the Springfield-to-Bloomington section of the Chicago & Alton Railroad, and it wasn’t incorporated as a village until … Continue reading →

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Eva Carroll Monroe

Posted on April 11, 2013 by editor

Eva Carroll Monroe was the founder and director of the Lincoln Colored Home, 427 S. 12th St., from 1904 until it closed in 1932. See Lincoln Colored Home.  

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