Alton IL History

The Alton area was home to Native Americans long before the founding of the modern city. While early historic accounts indicate occupation of this area by the Illiniwek or Illinois Confederacy, earlier native settlement is evidenced by the presence of the famous Piasa bird painted on a cliff face nearby, first seen by Europeans in 1673 by Father Pierre Marquette.

Alton was developed as a river town in 1818 by Rufus Easton, who named the town after his son. He ran a passenger ferry service across the Mississippi River to the opposite Missouri shore. Alton is located amid the confluence of three important navigable rivers: the Illinois, the Mississippi, and the Missouri.Under construction is a monument, and multilevel observatory, located at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi near the levee in Wood River. Alton grew into a matter-of-fact river town with an industrial character and its steep-sloped streets filled with silos, railroad tracks, brick commercial buildings. Alton once was the site of several brick factories, and brick streets are still visible.

Historic Alton Homes:
Many blocks of housing in Alton were built in the Victorian Queen Anne style, which marks a more successful period of the city's history. Alton is subject to floods. Visitors can see the various flood levels of different dates marked on the grain silo in downtown.

North along the river the River Road stretches north to Grafton, a dramatic contrast between the high cliffs of the Illinois side to the broad, flat, green countryside of Portage des Sioux, Missouri. The Great River Road is a popular bicycle tour destination. Hidden in a notch of the cliff is the tiny town of Elsah, Illinois, once a down-and-dirty liquor-soaked tug-boater's retreat, now reborn as a quaint antique center with trimmed front lawns.

On November 7, 1837 abolitionist printer Elijah P. Lovejoy was murdered by a mob of supporters of slavery while he was attempting to protect his Alton-based press from being destroyed a third time. The mob then threw the press into the Mississippi. This tragedy marked Lovejoy as the first martyr of the abolition movement. As a consequence, the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution was drafted in Alton. Alton has been home to gangs of bootleggers in the thirties known throughout the state, and the overall bloody history of the town has contributed to the reputation of Alton as one of the most haunted places in America. Notable places include The History and Hantings Bookstore, and The McPike Mansion.

On October 15, 1858, Alton was the site of the seventh Lincoln-Douglas debate. There is a memorial at the site in downtown Alton that features statues of Lincoln and Douglas.

Alton has more earthly stories behind it as well. Once growing faster than its sister city of St. Louis, a coalition of St. Louis businessmen planned to build a town to stop the spread and bring business to St. Louis. The result was Grafton, Illinois.

During the Civil War, Alton was home to a Union prison, from which prisoners would attempt to escape and cross the Mississippi River back to the slave state of Missouri. Also, some of Alton's majestic historic homes played a part in assisting the Underground Railroad. There is a Confederate cemetery on the north side of Alton, a memorial marker is present on the site.

Robert Wadlow's grave, the earth raised so visitors can compare its length to other graves, is in Upper Alton Cemetery. There is a memorial to him, including a life size statue, and a replica of his chair on College Avenue, across from the Southern Illinois University Dental School.
The Sisters of St Francis of the Martyr St George have their American province motherhouse in Alton.