Springfield Chapter NSDAR
Springfield, Illinois

Kelley Cabin Marker in Springfield, Illinois

1927 - The Unveiling of the Kelley Cabin Marker Pictured from left to right: C.A.R. member Ronald Clifton Graham, 1927 C.A.R. State President Frederick Reid, and C.A.R. member Margaret Josephine Wyatt.
	December 3, 1927. A very cold day greeted those who met to pay homage to the first settler of Springfield, John Kelley, who braved the hardships of pioneer life, and mark the spot where his cabin, the first home-site in Springfield stood. The marker is a boulder at the northwest corner of Jefferson and Klein Streets. Click on photo for a larger image.

John Kelley’s brother, Elisha, a bounty hunter from North Carolina, explored this area in 1817. He returned to North Carolina and convinced his father, Henry, and four brothers, John, Elijah, William, and George, to emigrate to Illinois. They arrived in the spring of 1819, along with the family of Andrew Elliott. John died in 1823 at the age of forty.

The inscription on the bronze tablet reads:

"JOHN KELLEY ERECTED THE FIRST CABIN IN SPRINGFIELD ON THIS SITE IN MARCH, 1819 THE FIRST COUNTY COMMISSION, APRIL 2, 1821 AND THE FIRST COURT , APRIL 3, 1821 WERE HELD HERE SPRINGFIELD CHAPTER DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION DEC. 3, 1927"

The committee on “Preservation of Historic Spots” was comprised of: Chairman Miss Alta Mae Speulda; Miss Georgia L. Osborne, under whose direction research was completed; Mrs. Irene DeHaven Knox; Mrs. Mary Stuart Hall; and Mrs. J. Ralph Tobin. Mrs. Eleanor Rawlings was the chapter regent at this time.

 

All photos by: Lynda Kerstein

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Revised: March 22, 2008