Oysters

[Donna McCreary]

Oysters were often served in Springfield, IL pre-Civil War era. John Todd Stuart wrote to his daughter about the food served at a spring wedding. The guests dined on oyster salad, cake and ice cream.
When a new attorney opened his own practice, it was his social duty to take his fellow attorneys to the oyster bar for a celebrational feast.
When the Long Nine were able to rally enough votes to move the state capital to Springfield in 1837, that evening, all of the legislatures were invited
to Capp’s Tavern for a victory celebration. Ninian Edwards paid the total bill of $223.50 for “cigars, oysters, almonds, and raisins.”
I don't know if oysters were cheap in Springfield, but they were readily available.