The old Mansion in the Village

Is the purchase possible or a dream which can't be realized?

I was a little kid and my dad started farming the Miller farmland which included the old mansion.  My dad actually started farming part of the Miller land in the mid to late 1940's and then in the mid 1950's the mansion and surrounding land and stockyards was added.  My dad's hired hands lived in the mansion and my dad tried to keep up with repairs on his own but the owner didn't want to spend any money.  I remember my dad talking to the owner and telling him he needed to do this and that, but my dad's pleas to do maintenance went unheard.

The property starting falling into disrepair.  When my dad had the farm, the butcher block was still in the butcher shop and all of the buildings were intact except for the furnace building which had fallen in before my dad took over the farm.  When my dad's farm hands moved out, us kids had to go clean up the messes.  And frequently my dad had hog fries/cow fries (rocky mountain oyster) stag parties in that house.  He would furnish the food and the beer and men would come from near and far to eat, drink and play poker.  Guess who had to clean up before and after....yep you guessed right.

Now that same mansion is in a state of disrepair....the current owner wants a fortune for it....and the association which is formed from interested history loving people, want to buy it.  But......can they?  Is this project too much for this association to take on???  Can they get the owner down in price and bought before someone else buys it????

Currently there have been two offers from outsiders and a couple from the association....one offer from someone who lives about 40 miles north of here....and one from a couple from the northern part of the state.  And of course the Association has put in an offer which is an amount much less than one of these offers.  The Association now knows that the purchase and the plans to build a working farmstead might just be a pipe dream.  This dream may not ever come to full fruition.

If they could just find 100 "people groups" who would come together and give $1000 each, they would have enough money to purchase it and start with the renovation.  If they found 1000 people to give $1000 they would have a million.  But can they???  And can they in time???  I'm beginning to wonder about this dream coming true.

But look on the bright side....if they don't, they may be able to work with any new buyer....and if that isn't possible, they might be able to focus more on the betterment of the village....it needs help...it needs businesses....I think it needs a library...perhaps a library/museum combination.  Anything to pull it back together.  With those of us who have lots of history material that's valid and also with the amount of memorabilia, a museum would be so grand....and a library would perhaps re-establish the town's worth and value and continuance.  There are lots of grants possible to do such a thing....it just needs focus.

Now the mansion stands alone and waiting.  Will the new owner be someone who cares or someone who buys it for a tax write-off and really doesn't care.  The pipe dream is drifting!

Death in the Village
On Monday evening, January 16, 2012, the village lost another long time resident and former businessman.  George Baugher died as the result of a brain tumor.  He will be sadly missed but his spirit will remain alive in those who knew him.

Vintage Springfield Fires, Continuation

The following are old newspaper articles about fires which occurred in Springfield in the early years.  Apparently there were some spectacular fires in those days...due to lack of equipment and water sources.  But we must take our hats off to those who were fireman in those days.  I have more fire stories and pictures and will put them in a future post.  Hope you enjoy the content of these articles.


Feb, 1899
Three Burned To Death.
Fatal Fire in a Springfield (Ill.) Boarding House.
Springfield, Ill., Feb. 4.-In a boarding house fire to-day three persons were burned to-death. The dead are MRS. EVA WITHEY, proprietor of the boarding house; MISS HELEN ROSE, and J.C. HALL.
When the fire occurred the house contained eighteen boarders, nearly all of whom were asleep. MRS. WITHEY, after arousing the boarders and getting her four children out, went back into the house to assist J.C. HALL, eighty years old, who occupied a room on the second floor. She was not seen alive afterward. Her charred body was removed from the ruins. MRS. WITHEY was well-known throughout the State, having been State President of the Daughters of Rebecca. MISS HELEN ROSE was a sister of Mrs. John McCreery, wife of the proprietor of the St. Nicholas Hotel. J.C. HALL was a retired merchant.
The origin of the fire is supposed to have been a defective flue. The loss is probably $10,000; partially insured.

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November 1894
Hostler, Horses, and Buildings Burned.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Nov. 24.---Fire this morning destroyed the rear portion of Little & Sons' livery stable, the Armory Hall of Company C, Fifth Regiment; Utley's wholesale drug store, and Swift & Co.'s warehouse. Eighty-five horses in Little & Sons' barn were burned to death.
George Brewer, a hostler employed in Little & Sons' barn, was burned to death. The origin of the fire is supposed to be incendiary. The total loss will reach $125,000.

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March, 1876
Burning of a Theatre.
The Springfield, Ill., Opera House Destroyed By Fire-An Accident Which Probably Prevented A Serious Calamity In The Future.

Springfield, Ill., March 17.-At an early hour this morning it was discovered that the opera house in this city was on fire. In a few moments Capt. John Freeman with his engine was on the spot, and the other steamers soon appeared, but the flames had already gained such headway that the fire department were powerless to save the building. The scene was a brilliant one, and notwithstanding the early hour, thousands of persons came from their houses to witness the work of destruction. At one time the entire block of buildings seemed in great danger, and the employees in the Journal office began moving out the more valuable portable articles in that establishment. Fortunately however the wind was from the east, and the sparks and flames were carried in another direction. But this fact placed the county jail in great danger, and it was found necessary to remove the prisoners to another place for safety. After a hard struggle the department got the fire under control, though not until the theatre was entirely destroyed. The building was erected some ten years ago by a German citizen, who soon after failed. Mr. Jacob Bunn, the rich banker, of this city, then came into possession, but it has never been considered a paying investment. For several years it has been looked upon as an unsafe building, and in any other city it would long since have been condemned as unfit for public use. Only a few years ago, at the time of a military reunion, one of the outer walls settled to a considerable extent and with such a noise as to create a decided panic in the large audience. United States Senator Oglesby, who, with his charming wife, was among the spectators, was among the first to gain the street but how he ever got there the Senator was never able to explain. Subsequently there was another scene of excitement on the occasion of a portion of the gallery giving way. It then became generally understood that the building was unsafe, and though several expert architects pronounced otherwise, the people believed the rumor and seldom ventured inside the structure. Its original cost was in the neighborhood of $150,000. It was the only decent hall in the city, and was used for holding state conventions for both parties. It was here the conventions were to be held this summer, but its destruction will doubtless compel the State Central Committee of either party to agree upon some other locality. The occupants of the stores on the ground floor lost everything, as follows: H.E. Mueller & Bros. Wholesale liquors and cigars, loss $25,000, insured for $2,500; F. Schultz Drugs, loss $3,000, no insurance; A. Spiers & Bro., Saloon, loss $1,000, no insurance; N. James Musical Instruments, loss $3,000, uninsured. The origin of the fire is unknown. There had been an exhibition in the hall last night by the children of the ward schools, for the benefit of the Centennial educational fund, and the custodian says that the gas and heat were turned off immediately after the close of the entertainment.

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Early Springfield Fire Equipment .... no wonder so many houses/businesses totally burned.  Unknown date.

Thought For The Day

The following goal related quotes appropriately fit the dream

of those connected with the old mansion....the goal sometimes must adjust...and we must all realize that.

If you want to make you dreams come true,

the first thing you must do is wake up.

--J. M. Power

One half of knowing what you want is knowing

what you must give up before you get it.

--Sidney Howard

Goals are dreams with deadlines.

--Diana Scharf Hunt

Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion.

You must set yourself on fire.

--Arnold Glasow

The dream is there but is the stamina, the hope, the ability

to cope with indecision and a possible let down.

-- Me

Today is a day of mourning for the village.  As we reflect on this history of our town, all of us who have and do live here make up the composition of this little village in Central Illinois .... among the cow pastures and the pig lots and the farm land , the community has stood for a long time and we all have hopes it will remain for many more lifetimes.

Without those of who are Greenviewanites...those who do live here now and those who have lived here....without us and our ancestors and predecessors, the village would not exist nor would it have existed ever.  It has and it does and we will all remember those who made it possible.

Thank you for visiting and thank you for remembering.