1885

1885.

Springfield was incorporated as a city on February 25, 1885. The first officials were Mayor, Albert Walker, a blacksmith; Treasurer, Joseph W. Stewart, merchant; City Recorder, W.R. Walker, farmer; and Councilmen, T.O. Maxwell, owner of a livery stable, and William B. Pengra, mill owner and county surveyor. The town council met in the Odd Fellows Hall, as a city hall was not built until 1895 (Graham 1978d; Special Collections 1990:Box 66/19, Folder 11B). The first ordinance passed by the officials in December of 1885 gave the City Council the power to “open, grade, pave, plank, or otherwise improve any of the streets of this city, the costs of which to be paid by the owners of the property adjoining…” The next task was to define the duties of various city officials.