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Springfield and surrounding communities in the 1960s had a difference of opinion. Some people were pushing for the creation of a junior college… a two-year institution to serve as a bridge for recent high school graduates. But many in the city were holding out for a full four-year university. So when the Lincoln Land Community College district was created by referendum, it intentionally left Springfield out, because of fears that city residents would vote “no” and kill the idea.
But a loophole in the law allowed the Springfield school board… not the community as a whole… to vote to join the community college district after the fact, which they did in late 1967. And, so, with Springfield now included, Lincoln Land Community College held its first classes on September 23, 1968, in temporary buildings constructed on South Sixth Street near Interstate 55. The buildings were so makeshift that, among other nicknames, Lincoln Land was referred to early on as “Plywood U.” Almost exactly two years later, Sangamon State University would also be up and running for college juniors and seniors.
Learn more about the origins of LLCC at SangamonLink, the official blog of the Sangamon County Historical Society, and get more Springfield history here each week in the Springfield History Minute.
