Category Archives: State government

Oliver R. Barrett, Lincoln collector

Posted on December 18, 2024 by editor

Over a lifetime, starting at age 13, Oliver Barrett amassed an immense collection of documents, relics and source materials related to Abraham Lincoln. When Barrett died in 1950, his heirs offered his entire archive to the Illinois State Historical Library … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Histories, Lincoln Tomb, Lincoln, Abraham, Museums, Prominent figures, State government | Leave a comment

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

Thorne Deuel, museum director

Posted on October 20, 2023 by editor

Thorne Deuel, director of the Illinois State Museum for nearly 25 years, literally made it the institution it is today. Deuel (1890-1984) was a research associate at the University of Chicago, specializing in anthropology and archaeology related to Native Americans … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Illinois capital, Military, Museums, Prominent figures, Science, State government | Leave a comment

Sister Jane Like & Carol Bressan: Unsung heroes of SIU Med SChool

Posted on September 24, 2023 by editor

This entry has been corrected. See below and in comments. The lecture title said it all: “The Early History of SIU School of Medicine: Not for the Naïve or Faint of Heart.” According to Glen Davidson, Ph.D, two women – … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches, Higher education, Medicine, Prominent figures, Public health, State government | 1 Comment

Camp Tanner (Illinois State Fairgrounds, 1898)

Posted on April 17, 2023 by editor

Ten thousand Illinois militia flooded the Illinois State Fairgrounds less than a week after the start of the Spanish-American War. They left the fairgrounds – renamed “Camp Tanner” for the duration – almost as quickly as they arrived. The operation … Continue reading →

Posted in Illinois State Fair, Military, Prominent figures, State government | Leave a comment

Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame members, Sangamon County

Posted on September 19, 2022 by editor

The Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame includes plaques for a dozen – or so, depending on how you count them – inductees from Williamsville to Divernon in Sangamon County. U.S. Route 66, “the Mother Road,” probably the most famous … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Maps, Markers, Museums, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Route 66, State government, Transportation | Leave a comment

Dick Sullivan, political ‘boss’

Posted on September 8, 2022 by editor

Dick Sullivan, reputed to be Sangamon County’s behind-the-scenes political master for the first two decades of the 20th century, died in a violent train collision in New York state in 1923. Richard M. Sullivan (1874-1923), his wife Clara (1875-1923), their … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Local government, Politics, Prominent figures, Sangamon County, Springfield, State government | Leave a comment

Illinois State Fair crisis, 1922-23

Posted on August 11, 2022 by editor

The big question after the 1922 Illinois State Fair was whether there would be another one in 1923. On one level, the problem involved ownership of the fairgrounds. When Sangamon County turned the former site of the county fair over … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Historic Sites, Illinois State Fair, Local government, Prominent figures, Sangamon County, State government | 1 Comment

Gov. Len Small arrested, 1921

Posted on August 9, 2022 by editor

The Aug. 9, 1921, arrest of Gov. Len Small for alleged corruption created a daylong drama in Springfield. It was performed on three stages: the Capitol, the governor’s mansion and the Sangamon County Courthouse. Stars included Small, county Sheriff Henry … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Illinois capital, Law enforcement, Local government, Politics, Prominent figures, Spectacles, State government, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Lincoln Tomb statuary (added 1931)

Posted on July 12, 2022 by editor

The statuettes inside the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site were supposed to be urns. And the Gutzon Borglum bust just outside the tomb – the one people rub the nose of – was supposed to be indoors. The interior of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, Lincoln Tomb, Lincoln, Abraham, Museums, National Register, Presidents, Prominent figures, State government, Uncategorized | Leave a comment