Category Archives: Law enforcement

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

Nude swimming banned, 1921

Posted on September 28, 2015 by editor

Springfield Park District officials resorted to a police guard and at least one arrest to keep boys from swimming nude in a Lincoln Park pond in 1921. Officials warned the pond would be closed and drained if swimmers didn’t wear … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Children, Law enforcement, Local government | 1 Comment

Lauterbach Cottage Hardware ax attacks (1981)

Posted on September 1, 2015 by editor

No one was ever charged with the 1981 ax attacks at Lauterbach’s Cottage Hardware Store, but the case did lead to a change in Illinois’ mental-health privacy law. The attacks took place inside the family-owned hardware store at 15th Street … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Crime and vice, Law enforcement | 20 Comments

Hammer attacks, 1975

Posted on August 20, 2015 by editor

Two men were killed and eight other people injured in frenzied hammer attacks that took place in Springfield on Aug. 4, 1975. Frank Sherry (1950-2004) later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a deal agreed to by relatives of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement | 19 Comments

Noll Saloon murders, 1913

Posted on June 16, 2015 by editor

A string of saloon holdups had Springfield already on edge in December 1913, when a shootout with a pair of robbers left two men dead in the Carl Noll Saloon, 1301 E. Reservoir St. Gun-wielding robbers had held up at … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Crime and vice, Hotels & taverns, Law enforcement | Leave a comment

‘Diamond Special’ train hijacking, 1913

Posted on June 16, 2015 by editor

Two audacious robbers hijacked the Illinois Central Railroad’s “Diamond Special” train near Glenarm on June 18, 1913. The northbound train, which ran between St. Louis and Chicago, was due in Springfield from the south, bearing 150 passengers and an American … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement, Railroads, Transportation | Leave a comment

Serial murderers

Posted on May 20, 2015 by editor

Central Illinois played brief, but important roles in the lives of two serial murderers in the last half of the 20th century: *John Wayne Gacy, executed in 1994 for murdering dozens of teenage boys and young men, was a shoe … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement | 6 Comments

Nelson Howarth (Springfield mayor)

Posted on March 7, 2015 by editor

Nelson Howarth (1911-91) was the colorful, combative mayor of Springfield for three terms between 1955 and 1971. During his administrations, Springfield was named an All American city, city boundaries were greatly expanded, and the city initiated construction of a new … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Crime and vice, Law enforcement, Lincoln Home, Local government, Politics, Prominent figures, Springfield | 6 Comments

Buffalo’s bicycle-riding bank bandit

Posted on February 25, 2015 by editor

The sensational robbery of the Bank of Buffalo on May 14, 1896, became even more sensational when authorities learned the supposed stickup was an inside job perpetrated by two sons of one of Springfield’s most prominent German residents. The original … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement, Prominent figures | 2 Comments

Sangamon County Jail conditions, 1847 (Dorothea Dix)

Posted on February 23, 2015 by editor

Social reformer Dorothea Dix wrote the following letter – Dix characterized similar communications as “memorials” — to the Sangamo Journal and Illinois State Register on Feb. 19, 1847. It was published in the March 4, 1847 edition of the Journal. … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Law enforcement, Local government, Public health, Sangamon County, Social services | Leave a comment