Editing Alton, Illinois (section)

==History==

Although Alton once was growing faster than the nearby city of St. Louis, a coalition of St. Louis businessmen planned to build a competing town to stop Alton's expansion and bring business to St. Louis. The resulting town was [[Grafton, Illinois]].

Many blocks of housing in Alton were built in the Victorian [[Queen Anne style architecture in the United States|Queen Anne style]]. They represent a prosperous period in the river city's history. At the top of the hill in the commercial area, several stone churches and a fine city hall also represent the city's wealth during its good times based on river traffic, manufacturing, and shipping. It was a commercial center for a large agricultural area. Numerous residences on hills have sweeping views of the Mississippi River.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

===Early history===
The Alton area was home to [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] for thousands of years before the 19th-century founding by European Americans of the modern city. Historic accounts indicate occupation of this area by the [[Illinois Confederation]] at the time of European contact. Earlier native settlement is demonstrated by [[archaeological]] [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] and the famous [[prehistoric]] [[Piasa]] bird painted on a cliff face nearby. The image was described in 1673 by French [[missionary]] priest Father [[Jacques Marquette]].<ref>Marquette, Jacques. Journal. The Jesuit Relations: Natives and Missionaries in Seventeenth-Century North America. Allan Greer, ed. Bedford/St. Martin's: Boston, New york, p. 205.</ref>

===19th century===
Alton was developed as a river town in January 1818 by [[Rufus Easton]], who named it after his son. Easton ran a passenger ferry service across the [[Mississippi River]] to the Missouri shore. Alton is located amid the confluence of three navigable rivers: the [[Illinois River|Illinois]], the Mississippi, and the [[Missouri River|Missouri]]. Alton grew into a river trading town with an industrial character. The city rises steeply from the waterfront, where massive concrete grain [[silo]]s and railroad tracks were constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries to store and ship the area's grains and produce. Brick commercial buildings are spread throughout downtown. Once the site of several brick factories, Alton has an unusually high number of streets still paved in brick. The lower levels of Alton are subject to floods, many of which have inundated the historic downtown area. The dates of different flood levels are marked on the large grain silos, part of the Ardent Mills, near the Argosy Casino at the waterfront. The [[Great Flood of 1993|flood of 1993]] is considered the worst of the last century.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Emery |first=Tom |date=2019-05-19 |title=Flood of memories: Great Flood of 1993 effects still linger, 25 years later |url=https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Flood-of-memories-Great-Flood-of-1993-effects-13081890.php# |access-date=2024-05-04 |work=The Telegraph |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-28 |title=Remembering the Great Flood of 1993 |url=https://www.airforcemedicine.af.mil/News/Display/Article/3471589/remembering-the-great-flood-of-1993/https://www.airforcemedicine.af.mil/News/Display/Article/3471589/remembering-the-great-flood-of-1993/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Air Force Medical Service |language=en-US}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Alton became an important town for [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionists]], as Illinois was a free state, separated from the slave state of Missouri only by the Mississippi River. Pro-slavery activists also lived there and slave catchers often raided the city. Escaped [[slavery|slaves]] would cross the river to seek shelter in Alton, and proceed to safer places through stations of the [[Underground Railroad]]. During the years before the [[American Civil War]], several homes were equipped with tunnels and hiding places for stations on the [[Underground Railroad]] to aid slaves escaping to the [[Northern United States|North]]. On November 7, 1837, the abolitionist printer [[Reverend]] [[Elijah P. Lovejoy]] was murdered by a pro-[[slavery]] mob while he tried to protect his Alton-based press from being destroyed for the third time. He had moved from St. Louis because of opposition there. He had printed many abolitionist tracts and distributed them throughout the area. When one of the mob made a move to set the old warehouse on fire, Lovejoy, armed with only a pistol, went outside to try to stop him. The pro-slavery man shot him dead (with a shotgun, five rounds through the midsection). The mob stormed the warehouse and threw Lovejoy's printing press into the Mississippi. Lovejoy thus became the first [[martyr]] of the abolition movement.<ref name="Tide Without Turning 1958">[[John Glanville Gill]], ''Tide Without Turning: Elijah P. Lovejoy and Freedom of the Press'' (1958).</ref>

[[File:Historic Alton Illinois Home.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Historic Alton home]]

Alton became the seat of a [[diocese]] of the [[Catholic Church]] in 1857. Its first bishop was [[France|French-born]] [[Henry Damian Juncker]]. The new diocese had 58 churches, 18 priests, and 50,000 Catholics. When he died, 11 years later, the churches were 125, the priests more than 100, and the Catholics 80,000. He was succeeded by [[Peter Joseph Baltes]] from [[Germany]] (1869–1886) and [[James Ryan (bishop)|James Ryan]] (1888–1923). In 1923 the bishop's seat was moved to [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois|Springfield, Illinois]]. The Diocese of Alton, no longer a residential bishopric, is today listed by the Catholic Church as a [[titular see]].<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN|978-8820990701}}), p. 830</ref> [[Titular bishop]]s appointed to the see have been [[John Clayton Nienstedt]], and [[Josu Iriondo]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01367c.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Alton (Illinois)|website=Newadvent.org|access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t0101.htm|title=Titular See of Alton, USA|website=GCatholic.org|access-date=March 21, 2021}}</ref>

On October 15, 1858, Alton was the site of the seventh [[Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858|Lincoln-Douglas debate]]. A memorial at the site in downtown Alton features oversized statues of Lincoln and Douglas, as they would have appeared during the debate. Congressional representatives came to Alton when they drafted the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]] of the Constitution, to permanently end slavery throughout the Union. Alton resident and US Senator [[Lyman Trumbull]], chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]], co-wrote the Thirteenth Amendment. His Alton home, the [[Lyman Trumbull House]], is a National Historic Monument.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lyman Trumbull House (National Historic Landmark summary listing) |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1538&ResourceType=Building |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315200146/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1538&ResourceType=Building |archive-date=2010-03-15 |website=National Park Service}}</ref>

Just two weeks into the [[American Civil War]], Alton played a role in the infamous [[Camp Jackson Affair]], which led to the eviction of Missouri Governor [[Claiborne Fox Jackson]] from office. The State of Missouri's neutrality was tested in a conflict over the [[St. Louis Arsenal]]. The Federal Government reinforced the Arsenal's tiny garrison with several detachments, including a force from the 2nd Infantry under Captain [[Nathaniel Lyon]]. Concerned by widespread reports that Governor Jackson intended to use the [[Missouri State Militia (pre-Missouri State Guard)|Missouri Volunteer Militia]] to attack the Arsenal and capture its 39,000 small arms, Secretary of War [[Simon Cameron]] ordered Lyon (by that time in acting command) to evacuate the majority of the arms to Illinois. 21,000 guns were secretly evacuated to Alton on the evening of April 29, 1861.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The first [[Prison|penitentiary]] in Illinois was built in Alton. While only [[Alton Military Prison Site|a corner of it]] within a few blocks of the river remains, it once extended nearly to "Church Hill". During the [[American Civil War]], [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] forces used it to hold prisoners of war, and some 12,000 [[Confederate States of America|Confederates]] were held there. During the [[smallpox]] epidemic of 1863–1864, an estimated 1500–2200 men died. A Confederate mass grave on the north side of Alton holds many of the dead from the epidemic and a memorial marks the site. Often when Confederate prisoners escaped, they tried to cross the Mississippi River back to the slave state of [[Missouri]].{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

===20th century===
Alton native [[Robert Pershing Wadlow]], listed in the [[Guinness Book of Records]] as the world's tallest man at 8 feet 11.1&nbsp;inches tall, 2.72 m, is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in the area known as Upper Alton. The earth over his grave was raised so visitors can compare its length to other graves. A memorial to him, including a life-sized statue and a replica of his chair, stands on College Avenue, across from the [[Southern Illinois University]] Dental School (formerly [[Shurtleff College]]).

The [[Sisters of St Francis of the Martyr St George]] have their American province [[motherhouse]] in Alton.

In 1937 two commercial fishermen from Alton caught a [[bull shark]] in the Mississippi River.<ref>{{Cite news |last=DeBrock |first=Ron |date=2021-07-14 |title=Researchers affirm two bull shark sightings |url=https://www.thetelegraph.com/insider/article/Researchers-affirm-two-bull-shark-sightings-16308838.php |access-date=2024-05-04 |work=The Telegraph |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shell |first1=Ryan |last2=Gardner |first2=Nicholas |date=2021 |title=Movement of the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) in the upper Mississippi River Basin, North America. |journal=Marine and Fishery Sciences |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=263–267 |doi=10.47193/mafis.3422021010607 |via=ResearchGate|url=https://ojs.inidep.edu.ar/index.php/mafis/article/download/181/233 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Late that summer they had realized something was troubling their wood and mesh traps. Concluding that it was a fish, they built a strong wire trap and baited it with chicken guts. The next morning, they caught the 5-foot 84-pound shark, which they displayed in the Calhoun Fish Market, where it attracted crowds for days.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

World War II saw a group of seven brothers join the military and variously became decorated veterans.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Yakstis|first=Ande|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44317474/two_of_altons_7_war_hero_brothers_die/|title=Two of Alton's seven war hero brothers die|date=January 11, 1972|work=Alton Evening Telegraph|publisher=Alton Telegraph Printing Company|issue=301|location=Alton, Illinois|volume=136|page=1|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Among these were Millard Glen Gray, who was decorated by [[Douglas MacArthur]], and Neil Gray, who received the [[Silver Star]].<ref name=":0" />

In 1954, the city of Alton was named as one of three finalists for the location of the new [[United States Air Force Academy]]. Alton lost to the winning site of [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]].<ref name="Simon">Steven A. Simon, "A Half-Century of History", ''Fifty Years of Excellence: Building Leaders of Character for the Nation,'' 2004.</ref>

[[File:Alton Illinois sinking in 1993.jpg|thumb|upright|Alton flood, 1993]]
Because of Alton's location at the Mississippi River, the [[Great Flood of 1993]] with its high water levels caused severe damage to the city. Alton's water supply was cut off due to flooding, and townspeople had to be supplied with bottled water for more than three weeks. Many local businesses, including [[Anheuser-Busch]] of St. Louis, donated funds to help the people of Alton.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sterlingcodifiers.com/codebook/index.php?book_id=461|title=Sterling Codifiers, Inc.|website=sterlingcodifiers.com|access-date=2019-11-19|archive-date=July 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708130725/https://www.sterlingcodifiers.com/codebook/index.php?book_id=461|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The original bridge connecting Alton with [[West Alton, Missouri]], was a two-lane (one in each direction) bridge that had become a hazard for motorists and a hindrance for emergency vehicles. The northernmost bridge in the St. Louis metropolitan area, it was torn down in the 1990s. The current [[Clark Bridge]], with two lanes of divided traffic in each direction, plus two bike lanes, opened in 1994. Work had proceeded during the Great Flood of 1993. The award-winning cable-stayed design was done by Hanson Engineers of [[Springfield, Illinois]]. Pieces of cables identical to those of the bridge were handed out in educational settings all over the city to allow the city's children to "take home a piece of the bridge". The complex work of construction of the bridge, in which engineers had to deal with the strong river current, barge traffic and the 1993 flood, was featured in the documentary ''Super Bridge'' on ''[[Nova (American TV series)|Nova]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Super Bridge |publisher=WGBH |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bridge/ |access-date=November 5, 2013}}</ref>

===21st century===
In 2021, voters in the city elected [[David Goins]] as Alton's first black mayor.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.riverbender.com/articles/details/city-of-alton-election-results-49258.cfm|title=City of Alton Election Results: David Goins Is New Mayor|first=Dan|last=Branan|website=Riverbender.com|date=April 6, 2021|access-date=April 7, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/ofallon-mo-mayor-prevails-maplewood-elects-first-black-mayor/article_a2939482-d94a-5ede-8b1c-a35e0239b163.html|title=Maplewood, Alton elect first Black mayors; Belleville elects first woman mayor in upsets to local incumbents|first=Nassim|last=Benchaabane|publisher=St. Louis Dispatch|date=April 7, 2021|access-date=April 7, 2021}}</ref>