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Sangamon College was a short-lived venture created in Pleasant Plains by educators John L. Scott and Hugh M. Curry with the help of a dozen local investors. Most of the financial backers were from the Pleasant Plains area, but they … Continue reading →

Raymond Livingston, age 6, was trying to dodge an oncoming automobile when he was run over by a Springfield street car on April 29, 1906. See Springfield traffic rules, 1903.

Two robbers stopped the Chicago & Alton “Hummer,” bound for St. Louis, south of Iles Junction on Christmas Eve 1912. After failing to blast open the baggage car safe, they  fled when police arrived. Authorities indicted Elmer Vigas and Jack … Continue reading →

Catharine Bergen Jones cast her first vote (in support of liquor prohibition) in 1914, at age 97. Her obituary described her as one of “Springfield’s best known and most interesting characters.” See Women’s vote history, Sangamon County. This entry has … Continue reading →

A massive outpouring of women added more than 10,000 names to Springfield voting rolls in a single day, March 17, 1914. It was the first time women were allowed to register to vote in local elections other than schools. See … Continue reading →

Mary Morrison was one of two women elected to the Springfield School Board in 1911. She and Ida Hanes were the first two women to serve on the board. See Women’s vote history, Sangamon County.

Ida Hanes was one of two women elected to the Springfield School Board in 1911. She and Mary Morrison were the first women to serve on the board. See Women’s vote history, Sangamon County.

Mary Howard (later Mary Howard Miles) was the Anti-Monopoly Party’s unsuccessful candidate for Sangamon County school superintendent in 1873, making her the first woman to seek an elective office in the county. See Annie Rheem Hannon.