Manuscripts

Women founded the Service League of Springfield in 1939. It became the Junior League of Springfield in 1950. The collection includes organization yearbooks 1950s-2000s, board, financial, and committee materials from the 1960s and 1980s, newspaper clippings about the organization and their events and projects, programs, photos, and newspaper clippings related to their Follies event 1940s-1980s, New Salem Tour program materials 1960s, Lincoln sites tour program materials 1960s, newspaper clippings and correspondence related to the Lincoln Home area and the Survey and Plan.

Included in this collection are a few items from the LaBonte business, trade catalogs, legal documents and income tax reports.

John Lard and his family came and settled in Ball Township of Sangamon County in 1835. Among their children was Josiah who had a son Jacob. Jacob married Stella Leach and to them a daughter, Geneva, was born. Geneva married Louis Pitner Shepherd. Their son was Jacob “Jake” Lard Shepherd.

Materials related to the development of the Lincoln Home Historic Site.

As part of the American Library Association’s (ALA) campaign for the Library War Fund, Lincoln Library headed the effort for Springfield to raise over $2300 for reading materials and library equipment for the camps from 1917 to 1918.

The collection includes materials related to the operation of Lincoln Memorial Garden-correspondence, grounds notebook, committee reports, and maintenance plans, Administrators reports, Annual reports and meeting minutes, treasurers reports and financial records, photos, history and bylaws, newspaper clippings, event calendars, and items related Harriet Knudson and garden development.

The collection consists of nine notebooks with member information, meeting minutes, and newspaper clippings dating from 1932-1979.

The Liturgical Arts Festival of Springfield began as an idea of the Reverend Thom Dennis, then priest of Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, who envisioned an event that would showcase sacred art. Within two years, his original concept of an invitation-only art show, held in a church basement, had blossomed into the Liturgical Arts Festival, an exhibition of liturgical and sacred art, as well as a festival of performing arts.

The M. Zwicky Sons Soap Company was brought to Springfield, Illinois from Madison, Wisconsin in 1890 by George Zwicky and his brothers Casper and Michael, Junior.