Category Archives: Oak Ridge signs

The governor takes a wife (1896)

Posted on November 2, 2024 by editor

Gov. John Riley Tanner “was addicted to pomp and circumstance,” Robert P. Howard wrote in Mostly Good and Competent Men, Howard’s 1988 guide to Illinois’ chief executives. If so, Tanner lived his best life in December 1896 and January 1897. … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Celebrations, Coal mines and mining, Illinois capital, Labor unions, Military, Oak Ridge signs, Politics, Prominent figures, Social life, Spectacles, State government | Leave a comment

Hebrew Ground, Oak Ridge Cemetery

Posted on October 10, 2023 by editor

“Hebrew Ground” at Oak Ridge Cemetery is the resting place of 342 early Jewish settlers to Springfield and Central Illinois. It is marked by a plaque, dedicated in September 2023, that sits in front of the graves of Springfield’s first … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches, Early residents, Ethnic groups, Jewish, Markers, Oak Ridge signs, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Shelby M. Cullom (U.S. Senate)

Posted on October 29, 2021 by editor

Shelby M. Cullom won his first election by four votes. It was the start of a 60-year political career that would take him to the edge of the presidency. As a lawmaker, Cullom (1829-1914) “sometimes seemed to plod,” an obituary … Continue reading →

Posted in John T. Stuart, Lincoln, Abraham, Local government, Oak Ridge signs, Politics, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, State government | Leave a comment

Edward L. Baker (editor, diplomat)

Posted on September 14, 2021 by editor

As a newsman, Edward L. Baker delivered two of the biggest stories of the 19th century to Springfield. As a diplomat, Baker was too good to remove, no matter which party controlled the federal government. “Ned” Baker (1829-97) was only … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications, Journalism, Lincoln, Abraham, Media, Oak Ridge signs, Politics, Prominent figures | 3 Comments

Gov. William H. Bissell

Posted on August 31, 2021 by editor

When Gov. William Bissell was reburied in 1871, the crowd may have been bigger than at any Springfield funeral since that of Abraham Lincoln. Bissell was the first Republican, first college graduate and first disabled person elected governor. He also … Continue reading →

Posted in Illinois capital, Markers, Oak Ridge signs, Politics, Prominent figures, Spectacles, State government, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

First burial at Oak Ridge Cemetery

Posted on August 27, 2021 by editor

  Eliza Helmle, the infant daughter of Carl Albert and Marie Helmle, was the first person buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery, according to cemetery records. A handwritten cemetery ledger says Eliza died of “teething” at nine months old; the record … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Germans, Markers, Oak Ridge signs | 2 Comments

Fairview, home of William H. Herndon

Posted on December 23, 2020 by editor

The property where William Herndon compiled much of his biography of Abraham Lincoln never became a state park, but part of the house where Herndon worked still overlooks the Sangamon River north of Springfield. Herndon (1818-91) was Lincoln’s third and … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Lincoln, Abraham, Oak Ridge signs, Prominent figures, State government | 7 Comments

The Battle of Virden (1898)

Posted on November 13, 2016 by editor

The 1898 “Battle of Virden,” a 10-minute gunfight that killed 13 men and had lasting significance for Illinois coal mining, was fought in Macoupin County, just south of the Sangamon County line. However, the Virden confrontation also led to turmoil … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Business, Coal mines and mining, Labor unions, Markers, Oak Ridge signs, State government | 10 Comments

The Kelley (Kelly) family

Posted on October 21, 2013 by editor

The Kelleys – Elisha, John, Henry and their relatives – are usually considered the first Europeans to live in the boundaries of what is now Springfield. (An 1817 settler, Levi Ellis, may actually deserve that designation, but the Kelley family’s cabins … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Early residents, Historic Sites, Oak Ridge signs, Prominent figures, Sangamon County, Springfield | Tagged , | 39 Comments

John L. Lewis

Posted on March 26, 2013 by editor

For 40 years the head of the biggest coal miners union in the U.S. in an era when the country depended almost entirely on coal for its energy needs, John Llewellyn Lewis (1880-1969) was a household name from the 1920s … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Coal mines and mining, Historic Sites, Industry, Oak Ridge signs, Prominent figures | Tagged | Leave a comment