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Oct 25, 2024 · Abraham Lincoln moved to Springfield from New Salem on April 15, 1837, and lived there until he became president in 1861. Springfield had a population of less than 3,000 when it was chosen as the state capital in 1837 (government offices moved to Springfield from Vandalia in 1839), largely through the efforts of Lincoln and eight other members ...
Although the new brick structure was well-built and extravagant, the General Assembly of Illinois however still ignored the citizens' gesture and still voted the next year to relocate the state capital to Springfield on February 25, 1837, and build a new state Capitol there.
Largely on the efforts of Lincoln and other area lawmakers, as well as its central location, Springfield was made the state capital in 1839. As the state capital, the government of Illinois is based in Springfield.
- Overview
- Relief and drainage
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
Illinois, constituent state of the United States of America. It stretches southward 385 miles (620 km) from the Wisconsin border in the north to Cairo in the south. In addition to Wisconsin, the state borders Lake Michigan to the northeast, Indiana to the east, Kentucky to the southeast, Missouri to the west, and Iowa to the northwest. Illinois was named for the Illinois Indians. The capital is Springfield, in the west-central part of the state.
Admitted as the 21st member of the union on December 3, 1818, Illinois lies within both the so-called old industrial belt and the fertile agricultural heart of the country. The presence of Chicago, one of the country’s most prominent cities, creates sharp distinctions between the state’s largely urban and suburban northeast and the more evenly balanced urban-rural population downstate. In political life, Illinois is divided between Cook county (which contains much of the Chicago metropolitan area) and “downstate”—that is, all the other counties, even those north of Cook, such as Lake county. although its northern portion touches the Upper Midwest, its southern point is actually farther south than Richmond, Virginia, and has great affinities with neighbouring Kentucky and Missouri. Further contrasts derive from the racial and ethnic complexity of the population.
Much of Illinois’s land is flat, with irregular plains in the western, northern, and southern sections. This area once constituted a vast tallgrass prairie, virtually all of which was converted to farmland or urban sprawl. The unglaciated southernmost part of the state is in many ways out of character with the rest of Illinois. Shawnee National Forest, the only large tract of federally administered land in Illinois, covers a great part of this region. Southern Illinois consists of gently sloping, open hills. Rolling hills in the northwestern corner include the state’s highest point, Charles Mound, which is 1,235 feet (376 metres) above sea level. The statewide average elevation is about 600 feet (180 metres).
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The deep black soil of much of northern and central Illinois has unusual richness, and its quality for agriculture is among the finest in the world. The soils of the southern third of the state are far less suited for farming.
Illinois is drained by as many as 900 streams emptying mostly into the Mississippi River system. The Chicago and Calumet rivers—originally flowing into the St. Lawrence by way of Lake Michigan—have been altered through the construction of canals to drain into the Mississippi by way of the Illinois River, which roughly bisects the northern portion of the state from northeast to southwest. The Ohio River joins the Mississippi at the state’s southern tip near Cairo, an area known as “Little Egypt.”
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Because of its geographic position and its long north-south axis, Illinois experiences wide regional variations in temperature. Across the state, seasonal temperature variation also tends to be great, with typically cold, snowy winters and hot summers; extremes are somewhat ameliorated around Lake Michigan. Mean winter temperatures are about 22 °F ...
Illinois vegetational regions are separated into the tallgrass prairie of northern and central Illinois and the oak-hickory forest of the western and southern regions. Only tiny fragments of the original tallgrass prairie have been preserved, and some small areas have been reconstructed; the largest restored prairie in the state is Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, near Joliet. Before European settlers—first the French and then the English—moved in beginning in the 17th century, oak-hickory forests also prevailed in the north. The settlers, needing wood for fuel and construction material and the lumbering industry, stripped most of the trees, which left only 10 percent forest cover in Illinois. More than 6,200 square miles (16,000 square km) of forests remain, some 1,100 square miles (2,800 square km) of them in Shawnee National Forest. The state’s length gives it an unusual variety of Northern and Southern plant life. Both Northern and Southern wildflowers grow in Illinois, as do a variety of trees, such as white pines, tamaracks, walnuts, cypresses, and tupelos.
Before 1800 abundant wildlife roamed the prairies and forests, but bison, bears, wolves, mountain lions (pumas), porcupines, and elk have disappeared. Deer became extinct in 1910, but in 1933 the state department of conservation placed small herds that established a growing deer population. By the early 21st century the number of white-tailed deer in the state had reached into the hundreds of thousands. Coyotes and foxes can be found in woodlands and other natural areas and, increasingly, in and around urban areas. Game birds such as quail and pheasant are not as plentiful as in previous times, but waterfowl are abundant during the spring and fall migrations. Pollution has nearly wiped out many species of fish, but bullheads, carp, catfish, white and yellow bass, and walleye still abound.
Mar 1, 2018 · When state lawmakers head to the Capitol to do the people’s business, they travel to Springfield. But that wasn’t always the case. Springfield became the state’s third capital city in 1839.
- Kate Schott
Sep 26, 2022 · Abraham Lincoln profoundly impacted Springfield, which eventually became the state capital and one of the largest cities in Illinois. Yet, with history around every street corner, there is more to see, including the Dana Thompson House, Henson Robinson Zoo, and the Lincoln Memorial Garden and Nature Center.
The first settler there built a cabin in 1818; in 1837, largely through the efforts of Abraham Lincoln and other members of the Illinois legislature, the state capital was transferred there. Lincoln lived in Springfield until he became president in 1861; he is buried there.
