Springfield, Ohio: A Summary of Two Centuries

This survey highlights Springfield’s beginnings as an industrial oriented settlement growing into a city with an increasingly diversified industrial base well into the 20th century. Discussed in this connection is the role of railroads as a necessary condition to industrial success. As industry grew, commercialism expanded, and became centralized in the downtown. The text traces the city’s viable and lively downtown from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. The background for the d...