Rolling Mills, of course, was a mainspring of North Side activities over a long period.

Residents of the North Side have vivid recollections of this memorable event. Sleet storm of February, 1883, when Springfield was held in the icy grip of the Storm King for days.

This is the only one we have seen that shows it in a mantle of while. 'THE OLD WATCH FACTORY AS IT LOOKED AFTER SLEET STORMThere have been a good many pictures of the Illinois Watch Company plant at 9th and North Grand Avenue in its heyday, but Many of its workers to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to work in the Hamilton plant.' In 1928, the company was sold to the Hamilton company which closed the plant in 1931 taking Under the Bunn management it furnished jobs to many Springfield folks and also fathered Reorganized with Jacob Bunn as president. In 1877 the new company met financial difficulties and was

Many years owned by the late Isaac Diller. The first watch was completed in 1872 and was for The Illinois Watch Factory at Ninth and North Grand was for many years Springfield's leading industry. 'FIRST SPRINGFIELD WATCH COMPANY BUILDING. North of its real location, with old Reservoir Park completely 'out of the picture'! However, it makes an interesting addition to the Watchįactory section of your scrapbook of Old Springfield.' The broad plaza, and, in the right background, a depiction of the old city Reservoir about a block In his conception here, the artist has permitted his fancy to roam quite extensively, we should say -Īs witness the animated scenes in the foreground, the flags flying over three buildings, Its watches and clocks enjoyed a nation-wide Influence in the community in general, employing at its peak more than 1,500 workers. Suffice to say, the Watch Factory,įounded in 1870 and in operation over a period of nearly 65 years, was a great bulwark of the North Side and of course an important Life of the city is so well known that any detailed account here would be superfluous. The history of this noted institution in the industrial The pictureĪppears in Barker's 'Souvenir of Springfield,' published about 1889. This was before the addition housing the executive offices of the concern was erected. To the older citizenry this interesting lithograph from a drawing of the Illinois Watch Company plant in the Eighties will have a ' THE ILLINOIS WATCH COMPANY, FROM AN OLD LITHOGRAPH. Springfield Journal Register, date of paper which originally published the following is unknown.

Illinois watch old