Springfield, Illinois

Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County. As reported in the 2000 U.S. Census, the city was home to 111,454 people. The land on which Springfield is today was first settled in the late 1810s, around the time Illinois became a state. The city was originally called "Calhoun" after Vice President   John C. Calhoun; as public sentiment turned against Calhoun the city was renamed Springfield. Abraham Lincoln is one of the city's most important and prominent past residents, he moved to the area in 1831 and lived in Springfield itself from 1837 until 1861. Former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant also lived briefly in Springfield in 1861. In 1908 a large race riot erupted in the city which culminated with the lynching of two African American residents.
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