Springfield Illinois is home to a wide variety of historic figures and businesses. Jacob Bunn, the Meyer family, and Elisha Iles are just a few of the well-known families that contributed to Springfield through the stores they owned. The Condell family is another, if less known, family that contributed to the develop Springfield. Thomas, John, and Moses Condell, at various times, worked in the family stores, but it was John Condell who ran and operated the four different businesses, Condell, Jones & Co., J.S. Condell & Co., Condell, Stockdale & Co., and J.S. & M.B. Condell. After the Civil War John Condell joined C.M. Smith in his company C.M. Smith & Co. that brought the total to five businesses John Condell was a part of while in Springfield.  

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Over the fifty years John worked as a merchant in Springfield Il technological advancements changed the way goods were transported, manufactured, and originated. Merchants would have had to keep up with changing trends and anticipate what their customers would buy each season. Advertisements show John Condell took pride in ensuring his stores were stocked with the most contemporary trends from Europe and the East Coast. To assure his success in business John Condell would have had to change his merchandise, advertising, methods of transporting goods, and where he obtained his merchandise over the years.