Route 66 Historic U.S. Route 66, which ran from Chicago to California beginning in the 1920s, went through Sangamon County. Traveling north to south, Route 66 entered the county near Williamsville an…

For the centennial of Route 66: See Tom Waldmire cook Cozy Dogs and listen to the Illinois State Museum’s Route 66 oral history project. Links to both, new on SangamonLink. sangamoncountyhistory.org/route-66/

Madison Furniture Co. women’s softball team Some of the best women athletes in Springfield history drew throngs to the Iles Park softball diamond in the 1940s. Madison Furniture Co. sponsored men’s teams in multiple sports, but its women’s s…

The Madison Furniture Co. ruled women’s softball in Springfield during the 1940s. Meet the team, new on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/madison-furn...

R.F. Herndon & Co. (dry goods, women’s clothing) R.F. Herndon & Co. sold dry goods, women’s clothing and hats for more than 130 years in Springfield. Herndon’s operated the first horseless delivery vehicle in Springfield, and its third locati…

sangamoncountyhistory.org/r-f-herndon-...

‘Sundown Corner,’ Divernon Sundown Corner near Divernon was a landmark in the early days of Route 66. The “corner”, at the intersection of Divernon Road and U.S. 66, got its name because the bar/restaurant/service station wa…

Among its attractions for travelers on Route 66: Sundown Corner had indoor restrooms. New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/sundown-corn...

Carver Convalescent Center fire, 1972 This entry was updated in 2026 with information about one of the fire victims, Brunette Warfield Leland. SangamonLink is indebted to Duane D. Perry of Indianapolis, a relative of Leland, for giving…

Ten people died in a fire at a shabby Washington Street nursing home in May 1972. In terms of fatalities, the tragedy is the worst in Springfield history. SangamonLink’s updated entry tells the sad life story of one of the victims. sangamoncountyhistory.org/carver-conva...

St. Patrick Parish, Springfield Update: Bishop Thomas John Paprocki announced in March 2026 that St. Patrick School would close permanently. The closure was blamed partly on the expiration in 2023 of a state government tax credit…

St. Patrick School is slated to close. Read about its history on SangamonLink, ICYMI: sangamoncountyhistory.org/st-patrick-p...

First women jurors In January 1931, Grace Dye of Williamsville became the first woman eligible for jury duty in Sangamon County. But it would take eight years for most other women to enjoy the same right. The hiatus …

Women first served on Sangamon County juries in 1931. Among those who objected? Springfield’s “godfather,” Frank Zito.
For Women’s History Month from SangamonLink (ICYMI): sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/first-wom...

The Curve Inn’s curve The Curve Inn once sat on an actual curve. The nightspot, housed in a 94-year-old building at 3219 S. Sixth Street Road, was badly damaged by fire in February 2026. The inn originally was near a lo…

The Curve Inn came by its name honestly. New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/the-curve...

Route 66: Where are all the people going? (1946) Wilford Kramer, chief editorial writer for the Illinois State Journal, saw problems with the post-World War II widening of Route 66 from two lanes to four. This is a reprint of “Upon Reflection,” K…

Route 66 in 1946: A writer had questions. New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/route-66-...

National Public Radio in Springfield This is WSSR, Springfield, Illinois, with our inaugural broadcast. WSSR is operated by Sangamon State University and licensed to the Board of Regents of the state of Illinois. WSSR is heard at 91.9…

The 50-year history of National Public Radio in central Illinois, new on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/national-...

Samuel S. Ball investigates Liberia emigration, 1848 Editor’s note: This bulk of this entry comes from a talk, titled “The Spirit of Springfield’s Early African-Americans,” delivered by local historian Richard E. Hart on May 20, 2002, to the Sangamon…

After traveling to Africa in 1848, a Black Springfield barber and bathhouse owner declared himself “a warm friend and enthusiastic admire of Liberia.” New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/samuel-s-...

Springfield Library Association The forerunner of today’s Lincoln Library, Springfield’s municipal library, was the Springfield Library Association, a private library supported by membership dues and donation. (Lincoln Libr…

The forerunner of today’s Lincoln Library was founded amid controversy over whether civil rights pioneer Frederick Douglass should be invited to speak in Springfield. (Lincoln Library celebrates 140 years as a city institution on Monday.) From SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/springfie...

First motorized police & fire vehicles Springfield city government entered the automobile age on July 30, 1913, when the police department’s first gasoline-powered vehicle went into service. The wagon collected its first prisoner and it…

“Hickey” was a better deal than “Lucky.” Springfield experiments with gasoline-powered police and fire vehicles in the nineteen-teens. New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/first-mot...

The ‘Sudden Change’ When John Carroll Power was collecting material for his 1876 history of Sangamon County’s early settlers, he was frequently asked, “Has any person told you about the sudden change?” Sev…

Old Central Illinois saying: “If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes. It’ll change.” But the upcoming cold spell won’t be anything like the legendary Sudden Change of 1836. ICYMI on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/the-sudde...

Auburn’s double-decker bandstand The double-decker bandstand on the Auburn square evokes the early 1900s, when growing pains preoccupied Auburn residents. Today’s bandstand is a 21st-century replica of Auburn’s original two-story …

Built in 1905, rebuilt in 2001, Auburn's 2-story bandstand is "something unique and something to see." New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/auburns-d...

Tuxhorn Mine The Tuxhorn Coal Mine, which opened in 1903 in the Round Prairie/Rochester area, produced more than 3 million tons of coal before it closed two decades later. As many as 250 miners worked at the mi…

The Tuxhorn coal mine near Rochester went through a typical life cycle: boom, bust, and redevelopment. Read its story, new on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/tuxhorn-m...

The Lake Club NOTE: This entry has been edited. See below. The Lake Club, 2840 Fox Road, brought top national performers – Mickey Rooney, the Mills Brothers, Guy Lombardo, Pearl Bailey, Lawrence Welk and many mo…

It was New Year’s Eve every night at the Lake Club. Read the story of Springfield’s famed nightclub/gambling den, ICYMI on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/the-lake-...

James Wickersham, legendary Alaskan James L. Wickersham spent only six years, from about 1877 to 1883, in Sangamon County. He came to Springfield as assistant, office boy and general dogsbody to former Gov. John M. Palmer. He left th…

James Wickersham left Springfield as a fledgling attorney. When he died 50 years later, he was renowned throughout Alaska. New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/james-wic...

Rochester’s Alaskan mountain Unlikely though it seems, Rochester, Illinois, elevation 570 feet, has a legitimate claim to a mountain in Alaska. But you have to drive 3,800 miles to see it. Mount Deborah, 12,339 feet above sea …

Why is Alaska’s 35th-tallest mountain named after a woman from Rochester? Raymond Bruzan has the answer on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/rochester...

Santa surrenders sleigh to snowballs (1950 Christmas parade) Santa Claus, of all people, should have felt right at home when a four-inch snowfall greeted Springfield’s 1950 Christmas parade. But Santa couldn’t overcome a barrage of snowballs. The parade, whi…

Santa fell victim to snowballs in Springfield’s 1950 Christmas parade. New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/santa-sur...

Thanksgiving menu at the Oriental Café, 1925 Cream of oyster soup and Lobster Newburg joined Vermont turkey on the Oriental Café’s holiday menu for Thanksgiving Day 1925. The price? $1.25. The Lum family served Chinese and American dishes at …

At Springfield’s Oriental Café a century ago, the Thanksgiving special went way beyond turkey. Here’s the menu, on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/thanksgiv...

Glenwood Park and the Kalb family 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…

Ethelbert Kalb’s steamboat was the highlight of Glenwood Park. New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/glenwood-...

Beauty ban, 1911 Illinois State Fair The “lady managers” of the 1911 Illinois State Fair’s domestic science school were appalled when they learned one of their instructors was giving young women advice on cosmetics well as hygiene. Th…

Beauty advice was out of bounds at the 1911 Illinois State Fair. New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/beauty-ba...

Krous Park 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…

Krous Park, off Amos Avenue, lived and died by beer. New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/krous-park/

Oops ... 179 years. (Date is right in the entry itself.)

Donner Party: Emigrant tragedy The Donner Party left Springfield to emigrate to California in mid-April 1846 but became stranded in deep snow near present-day Truckee, Calif. The group’s experience is remembered primarily becaus…

On this day 129 years ago, the Donner Party was straggling into the Sierra Nevada mountains, headed for its date with destiny. Read Read SangamonLink’s newly expanded entry on the Donner tragedy and its Sangamon County origins. sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/donner-pa...

Springfield Survey, 1914 The Springfield Survey of 1914 was a massive study of local schools, prisons, and other institutions, and it’s still well-known in the fields of sociology and social work. But, partly because it wa…

The Springfield Survey of 1914 examined the lives of people who don’t usually make it into the history books: common laborers, schoolchildren, petty criminals, the poor, mentally ill and feeble. There’s never been anything like it anywhere else.
From SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/1010/

Springfield Zouave Grays go to war, 1861 “The city yesterday (wore) a camp like appearance,” the Illinois State Journal reported April 18, 1861, three days after President Lincoln called for volunteers to defend the Union from southern re…

The Springfield Zouave Grays were the first Illinois unit to respond to President Lincoln's call for volunteers to preserve the Union. New on SangamonLink: sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/springfie...

The Pillsbury smokestack comes down at 10 a.m. today (Thursday, Sept. 18). Moving Pillsbury Forward has a viewing site near 15th & Phillips.
"MPF volunteers will be on site to welcome visitors. We look forward to seeing many friends throughout the day and hearing their Pillsbury stories."

Demolition of Springfield's Pillsbury plant starts this week. Moving Pillsbury Forward will provide a viewing area.
MPF: “We hope to see many of our friends this week as we celebrate the bittersweet end of the Pillsbury era in Springfield.”
sangamoncountyhistory.org/wp/1541/