SPRINGFIELD 



5510 



SPRINGFIELD 



SPRING 'FIELD, ILL., the state capital and 

 the county seat of Sangamon County, is cen- 

 trally located in the state, 185 miles southwest 

 of Chicago and ninety-nine miles northeast of 

 Saint Louis. It is on the Sangamon River and 

 on the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern, the 

 Chicago & Alton, the Chicago, Peoria & Saint 

 Louis, the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton, the 

 Illinois Central and the Wabash railroads and 

 on electric interurban lines. The population, 

 which was 51,678 in 1910, had increased to 61,- 

 120 in 1916 (Federal estimate). The area is 

 eight and one-half square miles. 



Springfield is situated in the midst of rolling 

 prairies, and the city is well planned. The 

 state capitol, completed in 1887 at a cost of 

 $4,000,000, is the most prominent feature. It 

 is built of gray limestone and granite in classic 

 style of architecture, and is surmounted by a 

 massive dome (see illustration, in article ILLI- 

 NOIS). Other fine public buildings are the su- 

 preme court building, Federal building, county 

 courthouse, state arsenal, city hall, Y. M. C. A. 

 and Y. W. C. A. buildings and the Lincoln 

 Library. Here also are the State Library, the 

 State Historical Library and the Supreme Court 

 Library. Springfield is the seat of the Illinois 

 supreme court and the United States district 

 court. Leading institutions are the Bettie 

 Stuart Institute, Springfield and Saint John's 

 hospitals, two sanitariums and homes for the 

 aged and for children. The city has 442 acres 

 in parks, boulevards and playgrounds. The 

 largest parks are Washington, Lincoln, Bunn 

 and Bergen. 



In Oak Ridge Cemetery is a splendid gray 

 granite Lincoln National Monument (see illus- 

 tration, ILLINOIS, opposite page 2927) . The lower 

 part is a mausoleum containing the remains of 

 Abraham Lincoln and members of his family. 

 In the center rises a shaft 121 feet high. At its 

 base in front is a statue of Lincoln, and at the 

 four corners are groups of statuary symboliz- 

 ing the cavalry, navy, artillery and infantry of 

 the United States. This monument, which cost 

 about $350,000, contributed by people from 

 every part of the United States, was designed 

 by the sculptor Larkin G. Meade and was dedi- 

 cated in 1874. Lincoln's old home in Spring- 

 field is owned by the state and is open to the 

 public. 



In Sangamon County are about forty coal 

 mines, yielding an annual product worth ap- 

 proximately $6,500,000. In addition to large 

 coal-mining interests, Springfield has printing 

 and publishing houses, boiler and car works, an 



extensive watch factory and a large number of 

 other manufactories. The annual value of prod- 

 ucts exceeds $11,000,000. Springfield, settled in 

 1819, was organized and made the county seat 

 in 1823, and was incorporated as a town and 

 made the state capital in 1837. It became a 

 city in 1840. The commission plan of govern- 

 ment was adopted in 1911, and the water and 

 light systems are municipally owned. W.H.C. 



SPRINGFIELD, MASS., the county seat of 

 Hampden County, is in the southwestern part 

 of the state, ninety-nine miles southwest of Bos- 

 ton and 103 miles southeast of Albany, N. Y. 

 It is on the east bank of the Connecticut River, 

 which is crossed here by several bridges, and 

 on the Boston & Albany, the Boston & Maine, 

 the Central New England and the New York, 

 New Haven & Hartford railroads; it also has 

 interurban lines. Within the city limits are 

 included several villages, and the total area is 

 about thirty-seven square miles. The popula- 

 tion, which in 1910 was 88,926, had increased 

 to 105,942 in 1916 (Federal estimate). 



Springfield is an attractive city, with many 

 fine public buildings. Chief among these is the 

 municipal group, consisting of the Auditorium, 

 which contains a fine pipe organ; the Adminis- 

 tration Building and the Campanile Tower. The 

 group cost $2,000,000, and was dedicated in 1913. 

 Other noteworthy structures are the county 

 courthouse, public library (and two branch li- 

 braries), Art Museum, Museum of Natural His- 

 tory, state armory, Federal building, the Church 

 of the Unity and other religious edifices. Here 

 are located the United States arsenal and ar- 

 mory. The arsenal was established by the 

 Continental Congress during the War of Inde- 

 pendence, and the armory, established in 1794, 

 makes the largest part of small arms used by 

 soldiers of the United States. 



Forest Park (476 acres), with its fine animal 

 and plant collections, is the principal recrea- 

 tion center. Several smaller parks contain fine 

 pieces of statuary. One of the best known, 

 The Puritan, by Saint Gaudens, was erected in 

 Merrick Park, adjoining the library (see illus- 

 tration, page 4874). A statue of Miles Morgan, 

 by J. S. Hartley, and a memorial monument to 

 soldiers and sailors of the War of Secession are 

 in Court Square. Soldiers of the Spanish- 

 American War are honored by a memorial 

 monument in Carew Triangle. Hampden Park 

 (54 acres) was once a famous race track. 



The educational institutions include the train- 

 ing school of the International Young Men's 

 Christian Association, the French American 



