March 2026 Program - Built on the River: The Rise and Decline of Sangamo Town

Description

Sangamo Town was an early contemporary—and short-lived rival—of Springfield during the formative years of Sangamon County. Today, the village is most often remembered for a single episode: Abraham Lincoln’s work there helping to build a flatboat that carried a cargo of hogs to New Orleans. Yet Sangamo Town was once a river community with residents, businesses, and ambitions of its own. In this program, historian Curtis Mann explores the broader story of Sangamo Town, examining its origins, daily life, economic activity, and the circumstances that ultimately led to its decline and disappearance.

Curtis Mann has worked as librarian, archivist, and historian in Springfield, Illinois for over 30 years. He has co-authored numerous pictorial histories about the history of Springfield. Mann formerly worked as a Research Librarian at the Illinois Legislative Research Unit, and was a partner in the research firm, Sangamon Researchers, where he prepared nomination forms for the National Register of Historic Places as well as local landmark forms for the city of Springfield. He retired in 2023 as the city of Springfield’s historian as well as the manager of the Sangamon Valley Collection at Lincoln Library in Springfield, Illinois.

Mann has served on the boards of the Sangamon County Historical Society, the Illinois Foundation for Frontier Studies, the Elijah Iles House Foundation, and the Springfield Historic Preservation Association. Mann also serves as the secretary and treasurer of the Illinois Foundation for Colonial and American Studies. Mann received his BA in History from Southern Illinois University and his MS in Information Sciences from the University of Illinois.