Editing Granite City, Illinois (section)

===Early settlement===
The area was settled much earlier than Granite City's official founding. In the early 19th century, settlers began to farm the rich fertile grounds to the east of St. Louis. Around 1801, the area saw the establishment of Six Mile Settlement, a farming area that occupied the area of present-day Granite City, six miles (10&nbsp;km) from [[St. Louis]].<ref name=part1>{{cite web|title=History of Granite City: Part I|url=http://www.granitecity.illinois.gov/community/history_of_granite_city/part1.html|publisher=City of Granite City|access-date=3 June 2015}}</ref> Soon after, around 1806, the [[National Road]] was to be constructed through the area, but it was never completed.<ref name="part1"/> By 1817, the area became known as Six Mile Prairie, to distinguish it from Six Mile Township.<ref name="part1"/> By 1854, the first railroad was built.<ref name=part2>{{cite web|title=History of Granite City: Part II|url=http://www.granitecity.illinois.gov/community/history_of_granite_city/part2.html|publisher=City of Granite City|access-date=3 June 2015}}</ref> In 1856, the area known as Six Mile would be changed to Kinder.<ref name="part2"/>