Tag Archives: St. James Building

The distinction of being the founder of Jacksonville unquestionably belongs to , and he lived to see the town develop into a place of more than 2,000 people. At one time or another, he owned nearly all the land now known as old Jacksonville, and also the most of Hogan’s Donation (Springfield). He outlived all the early settlers and died in 1861. He was buried in a vault on a plot of ground at the northeast corner of State and Laura Streets, and his resting place was marked with this inscription: When I am dead and in my grave, And …

The incorporated in 1859, two short years before the Civil War began and destroyed much of its nascent commercial district. Development was a long and slow process for the remainder of the century, often driven more by outside capital than the local sawmill and lumber trade. In 1868, local citizens successfully lobbied the to construct a school for black youth. Stanton Institute opened the following year. The Board of Trustees christened it “the best school building in the state.” At the same time, northern capitalists financed the construction of the , the fanciest of several downtown hotels catering to a …