Greene County Archives and Records Center

🔥 On June 9, 1913, “The Big One” struck Springfield’s Public Square 🔥

On this day 113 years ago, a devastating fire ignited in a basement and quickly engulfed the entire northeast corner of Springfield’s downtown square, earning the tragic nickname “The Great Fire.” The fire started at the Heer Dry Goods Company and destroyed 11 businesses with total damage estimated at over $1 million, an astronomical loss by 1913 standards.

Miraculously, no fatalities were ever officially confirmed, despite the immense destruction. Three new fire engines and a chemical truck with two 55-gallon drums of soda/acid mix (used to propel the water higher) were purchased one month earlier by the Springfield, MO Fire Department.The fire loss was the first fire in Springfield’s history to exceed a million dollars in damages.

Pictured below is a photo of the aftermath, taken just 3 hours after the fire started. Courtesy of the Springfield-Greene County Library

We stumbled across this delightful old photo and couldn’t resist sharing it!

Here you see Freda and Paula Wingo posing proudly with a very patient Billy Goat Gruff and a little wooden wagon. And as if that wasn’t charming enough… one of them is holding a puppy!

Around the turn of the 20th century, itinerant photographers traveled from town to town creating sweet, whimsical keepsakes just like this one.

Courtesy of the Piland Collection

📜 Featured Collection of the Month: The Goad Ballinger Collection!

This month, we’re highlighting The Last Man’s Club of World War I from Goad Ballinger Post No. 69.

This remarkable set of records preserves the organization’s founding documents and meeting minutes from its beginning in 1933 all the way through 1979. Formed by World War I veterans, the club gathered each year for an annual banquet to honor their shared service, remember those who had passed, and uphold a tradition of camaraderie that stretched across decades.

One cherished custom was to honor the final surviving member with a symbolic bottle of champagne that had been saved since the club’s founding - a tribute to both memory and brotherhood.

The last surviving member of Post No. 69’s club was V. Homer Wilson, a U.S. Navy veteran who served as a stevedore during World War I, helping load and unload military cargo at a time when Naval logistics were crucial to the war effort. Wilson served as the club’s first vice admiral, then as paymaster in 1934. He also attended the very first banquet held in November 1933, and his name appears on the original membership roll featured in this month’s collection.

When Wilson became the final surviving member, he received the club’s traditional bottle of champagne on February 13, 1992, at the age of 97. Though honored with the champagne, Wilson chose to donate it back to Post 69’s museum so future generations could preserve and understand its history.

This collection offers a rare look into how WWI veterans chose to preserve their memories, honor their comrades, and pass their stories forward.

On this day … in 1914, the Pythian Home of Missouri was dedicated!

Now known as Pythian Castle, it was built by the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization built on the ideals of friendship, charity, and benevolence, the castle was envisioned as a home for orphans, widows, and elderly members of the order. Springfield, one of eight cities competing to host the project, sold 53 acres of land to the Grand Lodge of the Knights of Pythias for only $1 on October 7, 1909. Springfield guaranteed streetcar and sewer extensions, improved road access, full utility service with free water for the first year, a new modern school for the children, and burial space in Hazelwood Cemetery, ensuring the Pythian Home would be fully supported by the surrounding community.

A groundbreaking ceremony was on November 22, 1911, and the cornerstone was laid on May 9, 1912. Pythian Home was constructed from sturdy Carthage Stone, or locally quarried limestone; the castle was crafted to evoke the grandeur of a medieval fortress. Inside, the structure features a steel framework, poured concrete floors, ceilings, and stairs, and fire-resistant “Pyrobar” block walls coated with plaster. A barn, poultry house, and a temporary hospital were also constructed.

The main floor was designed for communal living, including a grand foyer, meeting room, ballroom, dining hall, and several sitting parlors. Upstairs, dual staircases lead to dormitory-style rooms for children, and private bedrooms for adults, along with a theater complete with a ticket booth and backstage changing rooms. A full basement and a separate powerhouse, which originally housed the boiler and laundry facilities, supported daily operations.

Originally known as the Pythian Home of Missouri, it served the Knights of Pythias until 1942, when the U.S. military repurposed it as an Enlisted Men’s Service Club connected to the O’Reilly General Hospital.

Pictured below is the Pythian Home on Dedication Day June 1, 1914. Courtesy of the Springfield-Greene County Library

🏰 Discover the Storied Legacy of the The Mansion at Elfindale

From romance and heartbreak to philanthropy and preservation, the mansion’s past reads like a novel:

After her 1901 divorce settlement, Alice was awarded all 400 acres of the O’Day property along with up to $200,000 in stocks, giving her the means to bring her grand vision to life. She named it Elfindale after elves she imagined dancing in the fog over the dale on misty mornings.

The limestone mansion covers 27,000 sq ft, with a three-story layout plus tower, full basement, 35 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, built in bookcases, copper chandeliers, intricate stained glass, and a spectacular French mantle from the 1904 World’s Fair. The grounds were designed for leisure with a dammed creek creating an island with a pagoda and bridges, stocked for fishing, canoes for guests, peacocks and even llamas roaming the estate.

After lavish construction exhausted her resources by 1905, Alice received offers up to $259,000 but chose to sell Elfindale to the Sisters of the Visitation for just $30,000, which was the exact price the sisters sold their home for in St. Louis. Alice believed her mansion was destined for a special purpose by God. It became St. de Chantal Academy for Girls in 1906 and served as a boarding and day school until 1964.

On this day in 1990, the mansion opened as a bed & breakfast, after changing hands and undergoing a major renovation, preserving its Victorian charm and historical features!

Just found this little gem and had to share! 📸✨

Check out Springfield Traction Company Street Car No. 12 doing some serious street‑cleaning duty here in Springfield, Missouri, back in 1918. Who knew our city once relied on streetcars not just for transportation, but for sweeping the roads clean too?

It’s such a fun peek into everyday life over 100 years ago — electric streetcars rumbling down the tracks with brushes underneath, tidying up the town long before modern street sweepers showed up. The brushes under the car would spin and push everything off the tracks so the regular streetcars could run smoothly.

Photo courtesy of the Springfield-Greene County Library

We want to thank Sally Young—through the generosity of Kitty Ledbetter and Brooks Blevins—as well as Amelia Shelley for the remarkable donation of The Dillard Collection, Parts I and II.

This collection is an important addition to our understanding of the Dillard family and their connection to the Civil War. Among its most compelling stories are those of Captain George A. Dillard and William A. Gibson (brothers-in-law), whose services and experiences offer a vivid window into the lives of Missourians shaped by the conflict. Their legacies, preserved through letters, documents, and family history, help us better understand the human side of the war.

Captain George A. Dillard served in Company E of the 72nd Regiment, Enrolled Missouri Militia (E.M.M.), a Union‑aligned home‑guard force created to protect Missouri communities from guerrilla activity, raids, and Confederate incursions.

William A. Gibson served as Assistant Surgeon of the 48th Missouri Infantry Volunteers, appointed by Missouri Governor Willard P. Hall, a role that placed him at the center of the medical challenges faced by Union forces in a border state marked by constant conflict.

Thanks to this donation, researchers, students, and community members have access to a richer, more personal view of Civil War–era life in the Ozarks. Items in this collection are available to the public and include:

- Muster rolls
- Reports of the sick and wounded
- Appointment and discharge letters
- Account receipts
- Military supply requisitions
- Pamphlets and letters
- Ordnances and notices

Mentor was once a thriving little town in Clay Township, and its story goes back to the 1880s. In 1895, the community opened its own post office with Cornelius Burton Finkbiner as postmaster—though he technically operated from just over the line in Christian County. A year later, the post office officially moved into Greene County, where it served local families until 1906.

Some of the businesses that kept Mentor buzzing included the Tom Langston general store, a gasoline‑powered mill owned by Tom Bonner, and Gabe McMullin’s blacksmith shop. The hall above the Langston store became a gathering place for lodge meetings and community events, making it a true hub of small‑town life.

Education played a big role in Mentor’s identity too. The first school, called Dodson, was built in 1885 as a simple log structure. Around the turn of the century, it was replaced with a two‑room schoolhouse. One room even served as a high school from 1924 into the mid‑1930s. The elementary school continued on until 1953, when it was consolidated into the Logan‑Rogersville School District.

Photo of the Mentor School undated courtesy of the Kinser Collection

On this day … in 1931, the new two-story red brick Lincoln School building was dedicated.

On that historic day, teachers led students in a parade down Central Street to their new school. When they arrived, the children sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” marking not just the opening of a building, but the beginning of a new chapter for Black education in Springfield.

With support from the Rosenwald Foundation, the new Lincoln School featured 15 rooms, including a gymnasium, mechanical arts shop, domestic science room, and a library—making it one of the best‑equipped schools for African American students in Missouri at the time.

More than a school, Lincoln was a community hub. It hosted scout troops, dances, plays, concerts, talent shows, and even a community library and child‑care center. The building later became Eastwood Junior High, then a vocational center, and today it lives on as Lincoln Hall on the Ozarks Technical Community College campus.

Fun Fact: It wasn’t actually the first Lincoln School. In 1884, Jonathan Fairbanks donated land for a new school for Springfield’s African American community, and that’s where the original Lincoln School building was constructed and named. The second Lincoln School, built in 1931, also stood on his land!

There is a fun note on the back of this picture of Lincoln School!

🗂️ This Month’s Featured Case: #4511

We’re heading back to 1917 for a quick look at a crime that was more clumsy than clever!

This month’s featured case highlights Arthur Morton, who was charged with burglary and larceny after being caught breaking windows and prying wood from the rear door of J. D. Campbell’s store at what was then 228 W. Commercial (today 306 W. Commercial). Fortunately for the store—and unfortunately for Arthur—he never managed to steal anything. He was stopped mid‑attempt and ultimately fined $2.00.

Just a small but memorable glimpse into Springfield’s justice system over a century ago!

Pictured below is the court case file and the building today, still standing with a lot of history behind its bricks. 🕵️‍♂️📜