The Sangamon Company history

Hamilton shifted the emphasis at the Springfield works to wristwatches from now out-of-fashion pocket watches. Its fancy wrist watches sold well. (Some collectors regard such models as the Picadilly, Marquis, Chieftain, and Ritz to be among the finest ever made in the United States) By 1932, however, falling sales caused Hamilton to consolidate production in its Pennsylvania factory.

A train crosses over the Sangamon River and Route 48 in September 1935.

Burdened by debt as the Great Depression began — partly the result of the Illinois Building construction — CIPS gradually divested itself of its other businesses and, by 1948, had become strictly an electric utility.

9, 1954, as crews build the nearby crossing over Lake Decatur.

White Oaks Mall opening day lineup (1977)

Sangamo Electric, after being purchased by the Schlumberger international conglomerate, closed in 1978.

Fast Food Merchandisers (a food distribution plant) was sold to Meadow Brooks Meat Corporation in the late 1990's but is remaining in Taylorville and is undergoing expansion activities.

Auburn and Stonington combined their districts with the Taylorville School District in 1992 through consolidation that enhanced the financial and educational operation of all three districts.

Lincoln Land Community College established the Eastern Region Educational Center in the Taylorville Industrial Park through the generous gift in 1995 of the Taylorville City Council in deeding over the Taylorville Facility to Lincoln Land Community College.

Brian earned his Master of Public Administration degree in 1996 from University of Illinois Springfield (UIS). Brian’s passion for history and craftsmanship along with his diverse skill set has transformed Sangamon Watches’ business model to be inspired by the American spirit.

In 1997, CIPSCO, by then the CIPS holding company, merged with Missouri’s Union Electric to form the St Louis-based Ameren Corporation.

Program papers of the Sangamon County Historical Society, 2003

In October 2011, MB&F launched Legacy Machine N°1, the first creation of a new collection, alongside the existing Horological Machines.

CIPS and two other formerly independent downstate gas and electric utilities, the Central Illinois Light Company and Illinois Power, now make up Ameren Illinois; the former CIPS operation had 400,000 electric customers and 190,000 natural gas users as of early 2014.

As of 2015, the Illinois Watch/Sangamo property was the headquarters of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

In 2018, Cyril Brivet-Naudot introduced Eccentricity, an entirely hand-made mechanical wristwatch.

Event Notice: Sangamon Watch Company is going to host the Sangamon Watches Launch Party at Anvil & Forge Brewing and Distilling at 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Wednesday March 25, 2020.