SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Springfield has been around since the early 1800s, and many significant events have occurred over the last 200 years.
Here’s a timeline of significant events that have happened in the month of March since 1830:
| 1830 | The John P. Campbell and Joseph Miller families arrived. Burnett moved five miles east. | |
| 1833 | The first session of Greene County Court was held in the home of John P. Campbell, county clerk. The settlement was called Fulbright and Campbell Springs. Court included Samuel Martin, presiding judge, Jeremiah N. Sloan and James Dollison. | |
| 1851 | An election was held to choose municipal officers; called “an attempt to resuscitate the almost defunct act of incorporation making Springfield a city.” | |
| 1866 | The Rev. Father Francis W. Graham came from Rolla to say first Catholic mass here. | |
| 1881 | The Kansas City, Fort Scott, and Memphis (Gulf) Railroad came to Springfield | |
| 1896 | Perkins Grand Opera House burns. | |
| 1905 | Diemer Theater, built by Dr. F.W. Diemer, opened on Commercial Street. Pearl White, a Springfield girl, was among those working in the box office. She became famous in early movies in the starring role of “Perils of Pauline,” a popular serial. | |
| 1909 | The largest crowd that ever witnessed a basketball game in Springfield saw Normal defeat Drury 37 to 17 winning the city basketball championship. | |
| 1912 | The last session in the old courthouse on the square was March 23, 1912, and the structure was torn down in 1914 to make way for Heer’s store. | |
| 1923 | The C. L. Rhodes Produce Co. completed a $60,000 plant on Mill street just west of Boonville Ave. to replace their building which burned last summer at Campbell and Mill. | |
| 1923 | Noted violinist Mischa Elman performs at Convention Hall | |
| 1924 | Larger animals of Springfield Zoo at Phelps Grove Park were moved to Dickerson Zoo Park | |
| 1945 | Springfield Gas and Electric Company is purchased by the city for $6,200,000 and its name changed to Springfield City Utilities. Springfield City Water Company was added on Dec. 30, 1957, at a cost of $20,709,776. | |
| 1947 | Springfield Newspapers plant destroyed by fire | |
| 1952 | East Trafficway opens | |
| 1953 | KTTS-TV, Channel 10, goes on the air | |
| 1953 | The council-manager form of government was adopted by city voters. A nine-member council was elected on May 5 and held its first meeting on May 18. This replaced the commission form of government beginning in 1916, which in turn had replaced the aldermanic system. | |
| 1955 | American Airlines crash at the airport. The crash kills 12 and seriously injured 23 with another dying later. | |
| 1983 | The university called off a concert by Ozzy Osbourne because of his rumored antics with live animals. The concert went on after a promise was made not to use animals. | |
| 1983 | KSPR becomes the city’s fifth open-broadcast television station | |
| 1985 | Cox Medical Center South opens. The hospital has 510 beds and 11 stories | |
| 1987 | Daily News and Leader & Press consolidate into News-Leader. | |
| 1988 | Assemblies of God again face national scandal. In March, church leaders ordered Jimmy Swaggart to quit preaching for a year after he admitted involvement with a prostitute. | |
| 1989 | An 18-inch snowstorm shuts down the city. |
