Category Archives: Local government

Smallpox and Springfield’s ‘pest house,’ 1901-02

Posted on May 13, 2020 by editor

This entry has been edited and expanded to reflect questions about whether there really was a smallpox “epidemic”in Sangamon County in 1901-02. When a smallpox scare broke out in Springfield in 1901, the Springfield City Council decided to build a “pest … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Local government, Maps, Medicine, Public health | Leave a comment

Washington Iles, civic leader

Posted on March 23, 2020 by editor

Washington Iles (1800-71) was often overshadowed by his older brother, Elijah, Springfield’s pioneer merchant and civic leader. But Washington also was a respected, active citizen of the city. The brothers were in step with each other in many of their … Continue reading →

Posted in Early residents, Local government, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Polio quarantine, 1949

Posted on January 6, 2020 by editor

In July 1949, with a polio epidemic under way, Springfield officials ordered children under 16 years old into quarantine – confined, with few exceptions, to their own backyards. Hours later, 4-year-old Thomas Suttle died of polio. The boy was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Local government, Medicine, Public health | 9 Comments

Bank holiday scrip (1933)

Posted on November 23, 2019 by editor

Springfield kept its economy going during the “bank holiday” of 1933 by printing its own money. State and federal officials ordered banks across the nation to close in early March 1933, amid a wave of bank collapses caused by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Depression, Local government, State government | 1 Comment

World War I memorial (new)

Posted on September 27, 2019 by editor

An obelisk bearing the names of 113 Sangamon Countians who died of wounds or disease in World War I was created in the early 2000s by John Kerasotes, a member of Springfield’s pioneering movie theater family. Kerasotes, however, remained anonymous, … Continue reading →

Posted in Historic Sites, Local government, Markers, Military, Sangamon County, Women | 1 Comment

DeWitt Smith Building fire, 1918

Posted on September 3, 2019 by editor

When the DeWitt Smith Building caught fire in 1918, modern firefighting equipment saved the building, and a heroic elevator operator rescued many of its tenants. Even so, the top floors of the building, on the southeast corner of Fourth and … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Architecture, Auto dealers, Buildings, Disasters, Local government | 2 Comments

First woman principals in Springfield public schools

Posted on August 14, 2019 by editor

Women served as principals in the Springfield public schools for the first time in the 1874-75 school year, but only following a debate in which some board members declared they opposed “so hazardous an experiment as the employment of lady … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Local government, Schools and school districts, Women | Leave a comment

LincolnFest (1981-93)

Posted on July 3, 2019 by editor

LincolnFest, Springfield’s Fourth of July street festival, lasted from 1981 through 1993. Aside from fireworks, the free two-day festival offered games, parades, carnival rides, and activities for kids and seniors. Highlights of each year’s event were free performances by nationally … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Local government, Spectacles | 4 Comments

‘Segregated district,’ 1909-15

Posted on April 10, 2019 by editor

In the early 20th century, the city of Springfield set aside a few square blocks where prostitutes were allowed to ply their trade without interference from police. The theory behind the quasi-legal “segregated district” was to keep the rest of … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Local government, Public health, Springfield Survey, Women | 1 Comment

Catharine Frazee Lindsay, community visionary

Posted on March 7, 2019 by editor

Catharine Frazee Lindsay is remembered mainly as the mother of Springfield’s famous poet, Vachel Lindsay. But many of her son’s ideals and, perhaps, some of his literary talent were inherited from his indefatigable mother. Despite a variety of personal trials, … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches, Historic Sites, Lindsay, Vachel, Local government, Prominent figures, Women | 3 Comments