History

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 long curve that connected northbound Route 66 to Bypass 66 on the south edge of Springfield. (The bypass generally […]

Doris Marbold Decker, 82, is looking forward to the Sixth Historic Marbold Farmstead Antique Show and Farm Fest on June 22-23. Tears well up in Decker’s eyes – and in all listening to her – as she expresses her appreciation for the work of the Historic Marbold Farmstead Association (HMFA). “It is wonderful to see […]

Springfield residents are entertained at our various venues: the Hoogland, the Muni Opera and the Legacy Theater. Shows also come to the Bank of Springfield Center, what Bob Hope during a performance there in 1979 called a “gorgeous garage.” But during the 1800s, Springfield was a mecca of theaters, opera houses, halls, saloons and stores […]

One hundred years ago, after four long and brutal years, the end of the Great War was finally in sight. By late summer of 1918, Allies had pushed the German forces into retreat. Among the American forces in pursuit of the fleeing German army was the Third Battalion of the 370th Infantry Regiment. Its commander, […]

On May 4, Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States, Daniel Mulhall, visited the Mother Jones Monument in Mount Olive, where he met with Northern Illinois University Prof. Rosemary Feurer, director of the Mother Jones Heritage Project. Mulhull traveled to central Illinois with Brian O’Brien, Consul General of Ireland, whose office is in Chicago. The ambassador […]

The glorious Dana-Thomas House – built in 1904 by Frank Lloyd Wright for Susan Lawrence Dana, owned by the Thomas Publishing company for over 30 years, purchased by the state in 1981, and restored painstakingly in the 1980s – will be open for special behind-the-scenes restoration tours on third Saturdays, April through July. The tour […]

Four presidents with personal ties to Illinois left an indelible mark in American history. Thanks to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM), these presidents’ legacies are recognized in a new exhibit. “From Illinois to the White House: Lincoln, Grant, Reagan, Obama,” opened at the ALPLM on March 23. The exhibit honors Presidents Abraham […]

Early Illinois settlers established sites of worship, first holding services in someone’s home and later building a church. Each year across Illinois these early churches reach a milestone, their 150th year, and the Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS) holds a luncheon to honor them every three years. This year 28 churches will be honored in […]

Eyes downcast, with a guilty expression and in a quiet voice, a friend of mine admitted, “I have never been through the Dana-Thomas House.” She isn’t alone; too many have been missing out on a Springfield treasure – not only in seeing the stunning interior with its amazing art glass and furniture, but also in […]

“Up flew windows, out popped headsTo see this Lady gayIn silken cloak and feather whiteAriding on the dray. At length arrived at Edward’s gateHart backed the usual wayAnd taking out the iron pinHe rolled her off the dray.” So wrote Dr. Elias Merryman in 1840, and he was referring to none other than Mary Todd. The poem […]

When a single rifle shot in Memphis, Tennessee, cut short the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King at age 39 on April 4, 1968, it cemented the iconic status of the civil rights leader and towering orator. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the assassination, the Springfield and Central Illinois African American […]

One hundred years ago, East St. Louis surpassed Springfield for the most ignoble reason – it had race riots worse than the Springfield riots of 1908. Springfield’s riots became known for helping establish the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. East St. Louis’ 1917 riots became known for their deaths and brutality. Prior […]