Pasfield Tours & Links
Our staff will provide you with a copy during your stay here. It’s loaded with facts and trivia questions pertaining to Illinois history. Of course, a stop at the Pasfield House is a great start to a rewarding experience in Springfield.
The full-color MASS Pass includes hours of operation and descriptions of the 23 sites. Staff of each site along the tour will affix a “passport” stamp to their respective page in your booklet. We hope you’ll find time to visit every site.
The Pasfield House is open for tours Monday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., unless a group has booked the house. Visitors may view a PBS television special about the architectural style of the Pasfield House and learn about the Pasfields’ contributions to Springfield. Please call for holiday hours.
The Pasfields played an enormous role in the rich history of Springfield. Three generations of Pasfields helped develop the city into an industrial capital city offering opportunities for many immigrants coming to America in the mid-1880s to early 1900s.
Pasfield Family Quiz
Hint: Answers on History & Architecture home page
Try to name which person – George Pasfield, the Elder, the Doctor or Junior – who accomplished these tasks:
Who pledged funds to build the Old State Capitol if the Illinois Legislature would vote in 1837 to relocate the state capital to Springfield?
Who was the first merchant on the historic downtown public square in 1831?
Who served as president of the Capitol Grounds Expansion Association that raised private funds to acquire land south of the current State Capitol so the Capitol Complex could expand to build the Centennial Building in 1918, preventing any further talk about moving to another city?
Who was one of the founders of the Illinois Watch Company, maker of the famous Abraham Lincoln model which was sold in fine jewelry stores throughout the United States and which created internationally acclaimed time pieces often used by railroad engineers in the late 1800s?
Which Pasfield served as a contract surgeon at Camp Butler, a Union Recruit Training Camp, and later a Confederate Prisoner Confinement Camp during the Civil War?