Category Archives: Uncategorized

Glenwood Park and the Kalb family

Posted on November 16, 2025 by editor

Glenwood Park was a small resort that operated along the South Fork of the Sangamon River from the mid-1890s until the early 1900s. Facilities included a small dam, docks and rowboats, an excursion steamboat and a pavilion with a dance … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Communities, Parks, Sangamon River, Social life, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Krous Park

Posted on November 7, 2025 by editor

Beer was the lifeblood of Krous Park, which operated west of Amos Avenue in Springfield from about 1878 until the early 1910s. John G. Krous (1847-94), who owned a saloon on the northwest corner of Edwards and Baker streets (today’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Celebrations, Germans, Hotels & taverns, Local government, Markers, Prominent figures, Social life, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Kiddie Land amusement park

Posted on August 7, 2025 by editor

Kiddie Land was Springfield’s home-grown amusement park in the 1950s and ‘60s. On opening day, May 27, 1950, every child received a balloon, and rides – on the merry-go-round, ponies, boats and a fire engine – cost 13 cents each, … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Children, Parks, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Antifreeze drinking party kills five, 1931

Posted on February 7, 2025 by editor

Just after Christmas 1931, a dozen ne’er-do-wells huddled in a boxcar parked along Springfield’s 10th Street railroad line, passing around a bottle of white lightning. Over the next couple of days, passersby found seven of the drinkers – sick, dying … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Public health, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Springfield market house, 1832-1880

Posted on January 7, 2025 by editor

When residents of early Springfield wanted fresh meat or vegetables, the city market house was the place to go. But you had to get up early. City fathers decided in 1832 to build a market house, a central point where … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Business, Early residents, Grocery markets, Local government, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Springfield High School sketches, 1930 (Alda Raulin)

Posted on October 8, 2024 by editor

                                    Alda Raulin captured classic views of Springfield High School in five line drawings that led off the 1930 edition of The Capitoline, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Arts and letters, Buildings, Education, Illustrations, Lithuanians, Lithuanians, Schools and school districts, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Transient shelters, 1934-35

Posted on September 6, 2024 by editor

When a jobless migrant – a “hobo” or “tramp” – wandered into Springfield during the Great Depression, he might have been in for a surprise: a well-stocked shelter offering meals, a bed, work opportunities and even recreation. Springfield’s transient-aid program … Continue reading →

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Camp Shuster, 1923-31

Posted on August 28, 2024 by editor

Camp Shuster, on the banks of Lick Creek southwest of Springfield, was a YMCA-operated summer camp. See Edgar Shanklin suicide, 1926.

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First Methodist Church’s electric sign, 1911

Posted on August 8, 2024 by editor

Springfield’s First Methodist Church broke with local tradition in 1911, when it installed an electric sign over the church door. The Illinois State Register took note in a Dec. 19, 1911, article: “Church Has An Electric Sign,” the headline read. … Continue reading →

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Henson Robinson Co./Henson Robinson Zoo

Posted on July 25, 2024 by editor

The standard version is that Henson Robinson planned to go to California but got distracted by Springfield. The real story is more complicated, but the result was the same. Robinson (1839-1900), a tinner born in Ohio, became the founder of … Continue reading →

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