Category Archives: Schools and school districts

Ku Klux Klan, 1920s

The high point of Ku Klux Klan activity in Sangamon County probably was a parade from the Statehouse to the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Oct. 11, 1924. About 2,000 Klan members participated in the march, the Illinois State Journal reported … Continue reading

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St. James Trade School (closed high schools)

St. James Trade School trained boys, originally orphans, for such jobs as mechanic, baker, the building trades, butcher and others from 1930 until 1972. St. James was a boarding school from 1930 to 1963 and then became a day school. … Continue reading

Posted in Churches, Education, Schools and school districts | 5 Comments

Springfield School District desegregation order (1976)

The Rev. Negil McPherson filed suit against the Springfield School District in April 1974, accusing the district of “numerous deliberate actions all of which boiled down to creating, fostering, and maintaining racial and ethnic segregation in the Springfield, Illinois, public … Continue reading

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Susan Lawrence Dana

Note: This entry was significantly expanded in July 2023. See “Hat tips” below. Susan Lawrence Dana (1862-1946) was a Springfield socialite, activist and philanthropist best known for commissioning architect Frank Lloyd Wright to transform her family’s Civil War-era home at … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, Museums, Prominent figures, Schools and school districts, Social services, State government, Women | 2 Comments

First Black high school graduate

The first African-American high school graduate in Springfield wanted to be a schoolteacher, but it would be 80 more years before the local public schools would employ a Black teacher. So Gertrude Wright (1861-1931) became a teacher in St. Louis, … Continue reading

Posted in African Americans, Education, Ethnic groups, Local government, Schools and school districts, Women | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Women’s suffrage in Illinois

A carefully calibrated legislative strategy in Springfield led to Illinois becoming, in 1913, the first state east of the Mississippi to grant women the right to vote. On June 10, 1919, the state then became the first in the nation … Continue reading

Posted in Illinois capital, Local government, Politics, Prominent figures, Schools and school districts, State government, Women | 5 Comments

Bettie Stuart Institute

The Bettie Stuart Institute educated young women, mainly from the Springfield area, from the 1860s into the 1930s. Courses ranged from English, math and foreign languages to art, vocal and instrumental music, but, as an advertisement for the school pointed … Continue reading

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Julius Rosenwald

This entry has been revised in light of new efforts to recognize Julius Rosenwald’s charitable and other contributions on both the local and national levels. Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932), a Springfield native, teamed with Richard Sears to build Sears, Roebuck & … Continue reading

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School problems, 1914 (Springfield survey photo)

The Springfield Survey was a massive study of local schools, prisons, and other institutions undertaken in 1914 by the Russell Sage Foundation with the help of hundreds of local volunteers. Topics covered included schools, care of “mental defectives, the insane … Continue reading

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Susan Wilcox

Susan Wilcox (1866-1943) taught English and other subjects at Springfield High School for 46 years, nurturing such budding talents as Vachel Lindsay and Robert Fitzgerald. Lindsay later called Wilcox his “noblest and most faithful friend of my life.” Wilcox was … Continue reading

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