Hickox, Virgil, House - Springfield, Illinois
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 47.897 W 089° 38.917
16S E 273236 N 4408724
Historic former house in the Springfield central business district.
Waymark Code: WM8RD6
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 05/06/2010
Views: 7
"The Hickox house is Springfield's oldest and last single family residence left standing in the central business district. It has been associated with important state and local politicians and civic figures since it was built. Virgil Hickox lived in the house from 1839 until his death in 1880. Hickox was one of Springfield's earliest and most influential citizens. In addition to becoming a financially successful store keeper, he was a prominent attorney and a major force behind railroad development in Springfield. He joined with a few other businessmen to bring the Chicago & Alton Railroad here, and became its general agent in charge of the Springfield area. With the completion of the C.& A. RR, Springfield, for the first time, had full connections with the rest of the country by rail. This was especially significant for Springfield's future, because the town was not on a navigable river. Springfield's real physical and economic growth started with the coming of the railroads in the 1850s. Hickox was also responsible for authoring Illinois law relating to the assessment and taxation of railroad property. He served four years as Canal Commissioner in charge of all contracts and expenses for the Illinois and Michigan Canal, t.he largest canal built in the U.S. in the 19th century. In addition he was president of a major Springfield bank and chairman the the Democratic State Committee for 20 years. Although allied with Stephen A. Douglas, even managing his 1858 senatorial campaign, Hickox was also closely associated with Abraham Lincoln professionally. Two respected works on Lincoln, Paul Angle's New Letters and Papers of Abraham Lincoln and Harry Pratt's Lincoln Day by Day, include numerous references to Hickox. Hickox was one of the owners of a section of land in Logan County on the C. & A. railroad line which he had platted as the town of Lincoln, Illinois, named after Abraham Lincoln, then attorney for the C.M. Concerning his relationship with Hickox, Lincoln later wrote, "I have always found hr. Hickox a fair man in his dealings."
Although the Hickox house was remodeled a number of times, it is substantially the same as when the Hickox family last lived in it in 1880, the porch being the only exterior change, and the house remained in the family until recent years. In 1895, Springfield's first and only private men's business/dining club, the Sangamo Club, chose the Hickox house for its headquarters, remaining there for over 15 years. Illinois Governors are usually given honorary membership in this club. In the 1920s, after the Sangamo Club had left, a speakeasy opened up here in the lower level, and continued as the locally famous Norb Andy Tavern after Prohibition. Norb Andy's was a popular bar for state legislators and countless political hangers-on. Many local attorneys, including the most politically ambitious, dined there daily and continue to do so today. It was a popular night spot for several years and former owner Norbert Anderson recalls nationally known celebrities like band leader Tommy Dorsey visiting here when entertaining at local clubs and theaters. Some of Anderson's most regular customers were Illinois' Governors Henry Horner (who came in every day in which he was in Springfield), Len Small, Dwight Green, Adlai Stevenson, William Stratton, Otto Kerner, Richard Ogilvie and Dan Walker and countless legislators. In fact, with the closing of so many downtown bars, Chicago's Channel 5 network station, in a Fall, 1980 news story, reported that Norb Andy's is one of the last spots downtown still popular with legislators who drink." - National Register Nomination form