Last updated: November 14, 2025
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Volunteer Portal
NPS Photo
Welcome and Thank You!
Welcome Digital Volunteers! Thank you for sharing your time, creativity, and talent in support of a new park at the very beginning of its journey. Your generosity is helping to shape something meaningful—something that will serve every generation who come after us.Below are resources to help you with your work. Please explore and tell us if there is anything we can change to make the Volunteer Portal more helpful.
Volunteers-In-Parks Resources
National Park Service Volunteers-In-Parks.Check out this all-inclusive website for volunteering with the National Park Service.
Volunteer.gov.
We will keep track of your Volunteer Service Agreementthrough your volunteer.gov account.
Lincoln Home National Historic Site Volunteer Handbook (PDF download, 4.81 MB).
This handbook is a work in progress as we add information about the National Monument. But it can still answer many questions about your rights and responsibilities as an NPS Volunteer.
Contact Information
Quinn Gilly, Volunteer Supervisor and Digital Media LeadOffice Phone: 217-492-4241, extension 241
Mobile Phone: 573-880-3120
Email: quinn_gilly@nps.gov
Learning Resources
About the National Monument
A Proclamation on the Establishment of the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument, August 16, 2024.1908 Springfield Race Riot Special Resource Study, 2023, National Park Service. (PDF download, 9.08 MB)
Historical Information
Fever River Research led the archeological investigation of the National Monument. Their research provides much of what we know about the people, homes, and communities impacted by the 1908 riot. Explore their findings by clicking on the links to download PDF research reports.Historical Overviews
- Early Black Residents of the Tenth Street Neighborhood
- An Early Upscale Black Enclave in Springfield: The Wright and Brown Subdivision
- Lynching in Illinois: The Prelude to the 1908 Springfield Riots
- “Springfield A Wicked Old City”: The Rise of Vice in Illinois’ Capital City
- The Landlords at the Turn of the Century: The Jewish Connection
People
- The First Lynching Victim: Scott Burton
- The Second Lynching Victim: William Donnegan
- Victims of House A: William Smith and Harrison West
- The Spanish-American War Veteran of House B: Robert Nathaniel Wright
- Young, Female, and Black in Springfield in 1908: The Life of Bessie Black, Occupant of House E
- The “King of the Badlands” and Resident of House C: Lloyd Thomas
Places and Archeology
- Burned House Locations Within Springfield’s Badlands
- Archaeology of the 1908 Springfield Race Riot. This webpage has downloadable PDF reports for each house excavated in the National Monument.
Historical Images
A haunting record of the riot’s aftermath is preserved by “In the Wake of the Mob: An Illustrated Story of Riot, Ruin and Rage.” This small album of historic photographs is held by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.Oral Histories
In the 1970s, researchers from Illinois State University interviewed many people who experienced the 1908 riot. Audio recordings and interview transcripts are available at the Illinois Digital Archives website.
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
How to Write for Digital Audiences
Web Writing How-To Guide (PDF download, 212 KB)Learn how to write for digital audiences with this handy how-to guide. It includes how to write for different types of web content.
National Park Service Editorial Style Guide
The National Park Service uses particular language in its writing. We do this to provide honest, accurate, and respectful information about people in the past. For example, we do not say “Blacks” when referring to people. We say “Black people,” “African Americans,” or “people of African descent.” Likewise, we do not say “Whites.” We say “White people,” “European Americans,” etc.
If you are ever uncertain about a language or word choice, check out the style guide!
The NPS also has a Spanish Language Style Guide (PDF download).
Hemingway Editor App
The National Park Service must write at no more than a 9th grade reading level. You can use this free tool to help you check the readability of your content. If your content is above a 9th grade level, try breaking long sentences into shorter sentences. Also try replacing complex words with simpler alternatives.
Chicago Style Citations
Always use the Chicago Manual of Style when including footnotes or a bibliography.
Research Volunteers
Are you assisting with primary source research and transcription? Use this link to submit your work!