Springfield cornerstone unearthed, reburied

By William Furry

Robert Mazrim excavates the foundation of Elijah Iles' store in downtown Springfield Photo William Furry

For archaeologist Robert Mazrim, director of the Sangamo Archaeological Center in Elkhart, last month's dig in downtown Springfield was simply another exploration of Illinois' all-but-forgotten prairie past. But for city historians Curtis Mann and Linda Garvert, every turn of the trowel was a revelation.

The site was the southeast corner of Second and Jefferson streets, where in 1821 a young entrepreneur named Elijah lies built a 16' x 20' log-framed store, the first commercial building in Springfield. As late as 1890 the structure still occupied the corner, a landmark to a generation and era quickly fading from public memory. But soon after, sections of the stone foundation were covered over and forgotten—until Mazrim picked up his shovel.

"The stars came together for this dig," says Mann, a librarian and Springfield historian with Lincoln Library's Sangamon Valley Collection. "Fortuitously, I made a trip over to Elkhart to see Mazrim's museum last month, and in the course of a two-hour conversation mentioned that the Iks storefront site was being developed. We both commented on what an opportunity it presented."

Until recently the corner had been occupied by an auto parts warehouse, leveled last year to make way for a new car sales lot. The site currently is owned by an import auto dealership. The problem, said Mann, was there was no city or private money readily available to fund an excavation. And the window of opportunity would soon close.

Mazrim, who last year opened his Sangamo Archaeological Center, a privately funded museum dedicated to the early settlement history of central Illinois, knew of the site and its significance in Springfield history. He also realized that if he didn't commit to excavating the site soon it would be bulldozed and any artifacts buried there would be lost. He contacted the owners for permission to dig on the site, and made arrangements with the site contractor for access.

Using only a shovel and hand tools, Mazrim and his crew unearthed the foundation of Iles'original store, including an early outbuilding. They also located the west wall of the basement, constructed from sandstone hauled from the Sangamon River bottom.

What did they learn?

"We found out a lot about the structure of the storehouse, where the cellars were and how lies stored his goods,' Mann said. "He had a great supply of valuable wares, including liquor and imported goods, which all had to be stored securely." Among the artifacts uncovered were pieces of porcelain, medicinal bottles, pottery, a portion of a clay pipe, and a hawk bell, which Mazrim says suggests that lies traded with Native Americans who traversed the Sangamon River Valley.

According to lies' autobiography, Early Life and Times (first published in Springfield in 1893 and reprinted in 1995), he transported several tons of goods to Springfield from St. Louis in 1821, shipping them up the Illinois River via keelboat to the present-day site of Beardstown, then paid to have it hauled overland to Springfield. "The [store] house was to be of hewn logs, covered with boards, with heavy poles laid on to keep the boards from blowing off," lies wrote. lies stayed in the store business long enough to be successful as a land speculator; then in 1830 he rented the store to his clerk, John Williams, who later founded the First National Bank in Springfield.

The storefront was converted to a private residence in 1836 and later owned by John Hay, grandfather of Abraham Lincoln's private secretary, who also reportedly lived in the house for a brief time.

Illinois Heritage |25