Springfield History Facts and Timeline

(Springfield, Illinois - IL, USA)

The past couple of centuries' worth of history has certainly been Springfield's most interesting and eventful. However, native American Indians have lived along the rivers of Illinois for many thousands of years.

When the territory of Illinois became the nation's 21st United State in the year 1818, the present-day capital was little more than endless prairie land. The following year, the earliest settlers arrived from North Carolina and soon after, their small community gained the title of seat of Sangamon County.

Log cabins were built around Jefferson Street and Second Street, and American immigrants began to arrive from states such as Kentucky and even North Carolina, to the far southeast. Springfield was officially founded in 1821 and named as Calhoun, in honor of South Carolina's esteemed senator, John Caldwell Calhoun (1782 to 1850).

A Growing Town and Soon to be Capital City

The settlement began to grow and draw immigrants, being incorporated as a town in the year 1832. Just one year earlier in history, the town had been visited for the first time by a young Abraham Lincoln, who was to have a close relationship with Springfield for the rest of his life. Lincoln moved here in 1837 and stayed for more than 20 years, training as a lawyer and later becoming a politician, before being elected as US President (1861 to 1865).

In 1837, Illinois chose to move its capital, Vandalia, to the more centrally located Springfield. There was a brief transition period lasting in the region of two years, with the city's original State Capitol Building being constructed between the years 1837 and 1840 (now the Old State Capitol State Historic Site). The cost of this construction was approximately US$250,000.

City Charter was awarded in 1840 and, enjoying its newfound status, Springfield began expanding its boundaries and planning an infrastructure fit for a capital city. The tragic assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, at Ford's Theater in Washington DC, turned out to be quite an event for Springfield, since many important dignitaries arrived here for his funeral. Today, an imposing tomb for America's 16th president can be found at Oak Ridge Cemetery.

A New Capitol Building for Illinois

Due to the prosperous years being enjoyed by Springfield, following the American Civil War (1861 to 1865), it soon became apparent that the city had rather outgrown its Capitol.

A new, even grander building was subsequently commissioned, with its location being just four blocks away. The old Illinois State Capitol was then used as Sangamon County's courthouse and this continued right up until the mid-1960s.

Important Dates in Springfield History

It was not long until Springfield had become a significant transport hub, thanks to the arrival of the Illinois railroad network and the city's central setting in the state. Being the capital, politics was a mainstay of life in the city, while coal mining and agriculture contributed greatly to the overall economy.

The 1880s saw the death of Mary Todd Lincoln in 1882 (Abraham Lincoln's widow), followed by the invention of cash registers in 1884. At the turn of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright built the famous Dana Thomas House, which was followed in 1908 by extreme violence at the Springfield Race Riot. When the Centennial Building was built in the early 1920s, the state offices were relocated here from the State Capitol. A few years on, the baseball stadium of Lanphier Park opened its doors for the first time.

Other notable dates in the history of Springfield include the creation of the city's namesake lake / reservoir in the 1930s, which cost roughly US$25 million and provides a combination of water, power and recreational activities. The University of Illinois at Springfield came along at the end of the 1960s, and the Prairie Capital Convention Center opened the following decade. More recently, then-senator Barack Obama came to Springfield in 2007, to announce that he was planning to stand for US president, speaking to the crowds from the steps of the Old State Capitol.