Category Archives: Local government

New Deal projects, 1930s

Posted on January 23, 2019 by editor

Thousands of people clogged downtown Springfield on June 30, 1939, celebrating the fact that streetcar tracks no longer crisscrossed Monroe Street. The giant festival, which included three bands, a jitterbug contest and appearances by city officials, was the climax of … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Celebrations, Depression, Local government, Social services, Transportation | 2 Comments

Lincoln Library and World War I

Posted on November 8, 2018 by editor

World War I doughboys wanted reading material – “good red-blooded fiction” and more – and they got it with the help of Springfield’s Lincoln Library. But a small box stored for almost a century in the Sangamon Valley Collection, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Local government, Military | Leave a comment

John Schnepp, mayor & embezzler

Posted on June 5, 2018 by editor

John S. Schnepp (1866-1954) was a lawyer, real estate developer and two-time mayor of Springfield. He also was an embezzler and philanderer. With his thefts on the verge of exposure in January 1932, Schnepp disappeared. Discovered three years later selling … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Crime and vice, Local government, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Springfield fire protection, 1850s-’70s

Posted on May 22, 2018 by editor

Fires that demolished swaths of the downtown square in the 1850s led – eventually – to Springfield creating a full-time fire department. But city fathers first had to remedy another problem that plagued local firefighting efforts: a water shortage. An “incendiary” – … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Disasters, Local government, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Fallout shelters in Sangamon County

Posted on May 16, 2018 by editor

On April 5, 1964, about 150 people moved into the sleek, white-tiled tunnels below the State Office Building. They were to remain there for 25 hours, drinking purified water and munching biscuits, while loudspeakers blared warnings and audio recordings simulated … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Communications, Illinois capital, Local government, Maps, Public health | 9 Comments

Hogs and Springfield’s civic spirit

Posted on May 3, 2018 by editor

It took years for the city of Springfield to finally ban hogs from roaming downtown streets. To historian Paul M. Angle, however, the fact that the debate even took place  demonstrated that Springfield, at long last, was developing a civic … Continue reading →

Posted in Early residents, Local government | Leave a comment

Lake Springfield holdout, 1933

Posted on February 21, 2018 by editor

Leander Shoup vowed to go down in a blaze of gunfire rather than relinquish his 123 acres of farmland to inundation by Lake Springfield. The city of Springfield won a lawsuit to take over the land, a little over a … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Farming, Law enforcement, Local government, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Douglass Community Center

Posted on February 6, 2018 by editor

The Douglass Community Center offered civic, social and educational opportunities to African-American residents of Springfield when most similar organizations were closed to blacks. The Douglass center (apparently named after abolitionist Frederick Douglass) opened in 1926. It was phased out as … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Buildings, Children, Ethnic groups, Local government, Social life, Social services, Sports and recreation | Leave a comment

Centennial Co-Operative Educational Congress, 1918

Posted on February 3, 2018 by editor

Black Springfieldians observed Illinois’ 100th anniversary in 1918 with a three-day conference examining the status, progress and prospects of the state’s African-American community. Some 3,000 people attended the Centennial Co-Operative Educational Congress, held Sept. 22-24, 1918, at the Illinois State … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Prominent figures, Social services | Leave a comment

First electrified home

Posted on December 3, 2017 by editor

The first Springfield home to be equipped with electric lights reputedly was the palatial residence of Frank and Sarah Jones Tracy. It’s not clear when Frank W. Tracy, a banker and civic leader, had the lights installed. The date probably … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Industry, Local government, Prominent figures, Social life, Springfield | 6 Comments