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Illinois
Springfield, the capital city of Illinois
Population 117,006 (2013) Metro 211,752 Elevation 558 ft (170 m) Founded 1821 Incorporated 1832 City Charter 1840
Present-day Springfield was first settled in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. This was a time when many immigrants from states such as Kentucky were arriving. Abraham Lincoln’s family was one of these. Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield from 1837 until 1861, when he went to the White House as President.
The city was founded by trappers and fur traders in 1818, who stayed by the Sangamon
River. The settlement’s first cabin was built in
1820, by John Kelly. Its first name given to this
new settlement was Calhoun, named after the
then vice-president, John C. Calhoun. The river floodplain provided fertile soil and the river gave trading opportunities. Soon settlers from Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina came to the city. But in 1832, Senator Calhoun was no longer popular and the city renamed itself Springfield after Springfield, Massachusetts (a place renowned at the time for its modern industry, especially the Springfield Armory). Springfield, MA was also a city that had built itself up from a frontier outpost, and this is what the people of Springfield, Illinois also wanted to do.
The first capital of the Illinois Territory was Kaskaskia. It then moved to Vandalia until 1839. Springfield then became the third capital of Illinois. The change to Springfield was largely due to the efforts of Abraham Lincoln.