Springfield History, Illinois

The name of this city was originally Calhoun which was inspired from the name of John C. Calhoun. It was in 1818 when various trappers and different traders entered this land. They had arrived to settle down in the proximity of the Sangamon River. The first cabin was built in 1820 by John Kelly.

In 1821 the city of Springfield was tagged as the county seat of the Sangamon County. The major reasons were the trading opportunities available in the city, the fertile soil, and the huge number of settlers who were coming to the city from various other cities like North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky.

In 1832, the famous senator John C. Calhoun fell out of the favor with the city inhabitants and hence this was when the city was renamed Springfield. In 1837 the city of Springfield took another step towards success when it was tagged as the capital city of the state of Illinois, the original capital being the city of Vandalia. This was made due to the serious efforts of Abraham Lincoln.

In 1831 Abraham Lincoln entered the city of Springfield but he started to be a lawyer and a politician of the city only in 1837 and remained here for the next 17 years. This was the time when migration was at its peak and huge numbers of migrants were entering and leaving the city constantly thus disrupting the voters list. It was this constant change that modified the political future of the city completely.

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