Search Results for: St. Joseph

St. Barbara Slovenian Catholic Church

Posted on June 2, 2015 by editor

St. Barbara Church, 15th and Laurel streets, was Springfield’s Slovenian Catholic parish from 1911 until 1947. Thirty-seven Slovenian residents of the Springfield area – many of them coal miners – formed a Slovenian Church Building Association in 1909, each pledging … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Churches, Depression, Labor unions, Prominent figures, Schools and school districts | 9 Comments

Church of the Immaculate Conception (‘Old St. Mary’s’)

Posted on March 21, 2013 by editor

The Church of the Immaculate Conception, a Catholic parish church that stood at the northeast corner of Seventh and Monroe streets from 1858 until 1952, should not be confused with the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which became the episcopal … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches | Tagged | 10 Comments

Cathedral High School basketball champions, 1939

Posted on January 28, 2022 by editor

Springfield’s Cathedral Boys High School won its only Illinois Catholic Conference basketball tournament in 1939. The 16-team event was held at the Illinois State Armory Feb. 24-26. Cathedral’s 285 students (as the name suggests, the school was open only to … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Schools and school districts, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Thanksgiving charity, 1921

Posted on November 21, 2021 by editor

Special meals were the order of the day for Thanksgiving 1921 at local prisons, orphanages and homes for the poor, sick and aged. And disabled veterans got a bonus that weekend: an exclusive performance by poet Carl Sandburg. A look … Continue reading →

Posted in Celebrations, Children, Social services, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Pike’s Peak Ocean to Ocean Trail

Posted on November 1, 2021 by editor

Back when Illinois highways had names, not numbers, the Pike’s Peak Trail brought tourists, and their dollars, to central Illinois. The trail (full name “Pike’s Peak Ocean to Ocean Trail,” often abbreviated PP-OO or PPOO) was cobbled together from bits … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Maps, Transportation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sweet gum trees

Posted on October 18, 2021 by editor

Springfield folklore says the city’s population of sweet gum trees (and their annoying, spiky “gum ball” seed pods) dates from the great elm tree die-off of the late 1940s. And sweet gums indeed were one of the main tree species … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Prominent figures, Science | 4 Comments

Widow’s letter, 1841

Posted on February 2, 2019 by editor

Letters recently acquired by the Sangamon Valley Collection at Lincoln Library show how one Springfield widow struggled to make a living in the 1840s. The story of Dorothea Grant also illustrates how some employers treated their African-American servants at the … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Business, Early residents, Women | Leave a comment

Carrie Post King’s Daughters Home for Women

Posted on March 14, 2018 by editor

The Carrie Post King’s Daughters Home for Women opened on Oct. 7, 1895 with five women already in residence, room for four more, and a cow. It also had the support of hundreds of local church women, a unique force … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Prominent figures, Social services, Women | 8 Comments

Rev. Patrick O’Reilly (Catholic pastor)

Posted on September 29, 2017 by editor

Rev. Patrick O’Reilly, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Springfield, was the guiding force behind the statue of Patrick Henry that stood above the school entrance for more than 50 years.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

First Christmas parade (1914)

Posted on December 22, 2016 by editor

Thousands of people turned out to see Santa Claus parade through Springfield on Christmas Eve 1914, but the parade, which was part of a much larger communitywide holiday celebration, wasn’t repeated for another 15 years. Children – “urchins,” as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Spectacles | Leave a comment