Madison County, Illinois - Chapter 54: Alton Township, 1912

The First Alton Settlement - Rufus Easton and Other Founders - Upper Alton Laid Out (1816) - Rallied from Blow of Lovejoy Riot - Town Chartered (1821) - Alton's Mayors from 1837 to 1912 - After the War of 1832 - The Flood of 1844 - Daniel Webster Visited Alton - Mexican War - Cholera in 1849 - Two Presidents Visited Alton - Lincoln-Douglas Debate - Oldest Fire Insurance Company in Illi¬ nois - The Civil War - Pioneer Masons and Odd Fellows - Public Utilities - Old- Time Citizens and Business Men - Industrial Notes of Today.

A bright day in June, 1673, down the river come drifting with the current two canoes. In them are seated seven Frenchmen, two of them are Marquette and Joliet, the already famous explorers, who to their other laurels had just added the discovery of the Upper Mississippi. They were the first white men to view the site on which Alton now stands. That they got a startling impression of it is shown by the record made by the gentle Father Marquette in his journal as named in another chapter. The painting on the rocks which he described, was the famous "Piasa Bird," since perpetuated in song and story. The good Father's praise of the skill of Al¬ ton's pre-historic artist, is appreciated to this day, while his criticism of the wild and muddy ways of the Missouri is accepted. It is 239 years since he made his observations and no reformation in the Missouri's mode of prog¬ ress is yet apparent.

One hundred and seven years pass away after Marquette's discovery of the site of Altion. The Revolutionary war is in progress. England, also, is at war with Spain, and the two countries are fighting each other across the borderland between the Louisiana terri¬ tory and Canada. On the morning of the 26th of May, 1780, the aboriginal denizens of the site of Alton, might have witnessed a fine sight from the summit of the bluff. They would have seen a fleet of canoes filled with savage warriors under British officers on their way from Canada to attack St. Louis and Cahokia. The invaders were 750 strong and their war fleet filled the river almost from bank to bank. As they came opposite the pic¬ ture of the Piasa Bird on the rock there was a sudden crash of musketry and a cloud of ar¬ rows filled the air. The bullets crashed against the picture and the flint tipped arrows dented the cliff. With this expression of hatred or defiance of "the bird which devours men," the savage warriors swept on down the river. Two days later they came paddling laboriously back up stream. The Spaniards had defeated them at St. Louis and Gen. Clark had hurled them back from the defenses of Cahokia. In after years, even after Alton had become a large town, Indian delegations passing down the river would fire their rifles at the Piasa Bird as they passed down, then come ashore and perform a war dance on the bluffs above the picture.

The first settlement upon or near the Alton site may have been that of J. Baptiste Car¬ dinal, who is credited with having lived tem¬ porarily at a place called Piasa as early as 1783. This place was designated as five or six leagues above Cahokia, and was doubt¬ less on the site of Alton. Cardinal having been taken prisoner by the Indians his fam¬ ily returned to Cahokia. Solomon Pruitt, one of the earliest settlers of Madison county, rec¬ ords that as early as 1806 there was a small building at what is now the corner of Second and Alby streets. The Ryder building now occupies this site. The house was built of loose rock without mortar and roofed with elm bark. This may have been the temporary home of Cardinal, but whether so, or not, it was the first building on the site of Alton of which any trace is known. There was a clear¬ ing made prior to 1811 at what is now the corner of Second and Spring streets by two men named Price and Ellis. While plowing one day in June of that year they were at¬ tacked by Indians. Price was killed and El¬ lis was wounded but managed to escape on his horse and made his way to the Moore set¬ tlement on Wood river.

In 1815 Colonel Rufus Easton of St. Louis, obtained possession of the lands in this vicin¬ ity and laid out a town plat which he called Alton after one of his sons. Easton, George, Alby and Langdon streets he named after other members of his family. His plat ex¬ tended from the river to Ninth street and from Piasa to Henry. In 1818, he made a contract with W. G. Pinckard and Daniel Crume for the erection of four log houses on the site of Alton. Two of these were com¬ bined into one. It was afterwards weatherboarded and became known as the Hawley House. It remained standing in the rear of

Second street, between Piasa and Market, until a few years ago when it was purchased by FI. G. M'Pike and removed to his suburban estate. It was destroyed in 1910.

Colonel Easton's first business venture on the new site was the establishment of a ferry at Fountain creek (Piasa) in opposition to Smeltzer's ferry two miles further up, for the accommodation of emigrants crossing the river to Missouri. A little later Maj. Charles W. Hunter purchased the so-called Bates farm, adjoining Henry street on the east, and laid out a town which he called Hunterstown, which was later incorporated with Alton. He built a two-story brick tavern there which is still standing in a good state of preservation at the corner of Second and Walnut streets. The land constituting the site of the city was entered between Aug. 19, 1814, and July 18, 1817. There were several Altons started about the same time; the Alton from Piasa to Henry ; Joseph MeachanTs Alton (Upper Al¬ ton) "Alton on the River," first known as Bates' farm, later purchased by Meacham and then by Maj. Hunter. Besides there was an Alton west of Piasa creek and Salu north of Upper Alton. The adjacent settlers were in the habit of lumping these together and call¬ ing them "Yankee-all-town." The first frame house in Alton, proper, was built by Beale Howard. It stood at the corner of Second and Market streets, on the site later, of the former Presbyterian church now the Laura building. It was afterwards enlarged and used as a hotel. It was burned down subse¬ quent to 1840.

Upper Alton was laid out in 1816 by Joseph Meacham and for some time was the largest of the Altons. Their growth was slow owing to the land titles not having been perfected. The dire result of the ensuing litigation is shown by the fact that in 1817 Upper Alton, then much the largest of the Altons, con- tained 78 families which in 1827 had been re¬ duced to seven. Alton had also flourished for a time but the protracted contest over land titles discouraged settlers and it became prac¬ tically a deserted village. Winthrop S. Gil¬ man, later Alton's leading merchant, fur¬ nished Rev. Dr. Norton, in 1880, with some reminiscences. He said: "I landed at Alton in 1829 and found but one house occupied in the place." About this time the contesting land claims between Col. Easton, Judge N. Pope, Gov. Edwards and others were com¬ promised: hence Pope's addition north of Ninth street, and Edwards addition in Middletown. With this compromise a new era began for the infant settlement. Settlers flocked in, including many from the eastern states of the stamp of Hon. Samuel Wade, William Hay¬ den, W. G. Pinckard and others well-known in pioneer history. The first brick house was built on Second street by Isaac Prickett, of Edwardsville, in 1832. It was occupied by Mr. Wade and was the birthplace in 1833 °f his oldest son, Edward P. Wade, now Presi¬ dent of the Alton National Bank.

Caleb Atwater, U. S. Commissioner to negotiate treaties with Indian tribes on the Upper Mississippi, passed Alton on the 30th of June, 1829, and says of it: "The town is twenty miles or more above St. Louis and not far above the mouth of the Missouri. It is located at the point where the ridge of rock that bounds the American Bottom on the east strikes the Mississippi. Alton is owned by Maj. Hunter formerly of the army, and the State is building a penitentiary there. Sev¬ eral steam mills are here and the place is rapidly rising up to some importance, being near the mouth of the Missouri and the point from whence a road could be most easily built in the direction of Edwardsville; the abun¬ dance of fossil coal on the spot and many other advantages give this place a decided preference over any other on the east side of the river above the mouth of the Ohio."

Rev. Dr. J. M. Peck, in his "Gazetteer" of 1834, in reciting the progress of Alton to that time, was not as sanguine of its future great¬ ness as were some of the early settlers. He said: "Lower Alton has its disadvantages. These, in impartial justice, I have no wish to conceal. The uneven, abrupt and hilly sur¬ face of a portion of the town site; the con¬ fined and low situation of another portion, which will prevent the circulation of a pure and healthy atmosphere; the extensive and low bottom that stretches along the opposite side of the Mississippi ; the powerful rival in trade and commerce to be found in St. Louis, twenty-four miles distant, a place ad¬ mirably situated and of great business, are amongst the drawbacks to the rapid and ex¬ tensive growth of Alton and make it problem¬ atical whether it will ever be the commercial emporium of the upper valley of the Missis¬ sippi but that it will become a place of exten¬ sive back country trade there cannot be a doubt." Certainly Dr. Peck had a clearer vision of the future of Alton than most of the enthusiastic early settlers and speculators.

The ambitious citizens of Alton procured a town charter from the Legislature in 1821. It is a unique document and is copied in full in chapter XLIII. The trustees under this in¬ strument seem to have been a self-perpetuat¬ ing body and to have had a nominal existence throughout the decline of the settlement for a number of years thereafter. That there was an organization under it as late as 1832 is shown by a book of ordinances in the city clerk's office bearing dates of that year. But this original charter was either repealed or ignored, as, in the winter of 1832-3, the Legis¬ lature granted another charter in which no reference was made to the first. There is, however, a reference to the blocks and lots laid out by Chas. W. Hunter in section 12 and recorded August 23, 1826.

Section 2 vests the government in nine trustees. Following sections make the usual provisions up to section 14. This section di¬ vides the corporation into three wards. All lying west of Market street to constitute the First ward; all between Market and Henry street the Second ward ; all east of Henry street the Third ward. Section 15 provides for an election to be held on the first Monday in March, 1833, for the acceptance or rejec¬ tion of this charter. Election to be called by present Board of Trustees, and, if accepted, to determine time and place of holding elec¬ tion for Trustees.

This act of the Legislature was approved February 6, 1833. At the time of its approval J. S. Lane was president of the existing town board. There is nothing on record at the City Hall to show whether this charter was accepted or rejected, but presumably the for¬ mer as John T. Hudson, Alton's first lawyer, was president of the board in 1833. The last town board was elected in March 1837 with Dr. B. K. Hart as President. On July 31, 1837, Alton was incorporated as a city by act of the Legislature, and city officers were elected on the last Monday of August, 1837, being the 28th, and inaugaurated on Sept. 2nd with John M. Ivrum as Mayor, Dr. Hart having declined to be a candidate. The city was governed under this charter until 1877 when it reorganized under the general incor¬ poration law of the State. At this first city election, in 1837, the following aldermen were chosen: Lirst ward - Samuel Wade, T. G. Hawley, S. W. Robbins. Second ward - Wm. McBride, John Quigley, J. A. Halderman. Third ward - D. P. Berry, John King, John Green. Fourth ward - Andrew Miller, Thomas Wallace, J. T. Hutton. This, in brief, was the evolution of civil government in Al¬ ton.

Prior to the going into effect of the general incorporation law the term of Mayor was one year. After that two years. Of the several Mayors Samuel Wade served four terms; Edward Hollister, three; James T. Drum¬ mond, three; Lucas Pfeiffenberger, five; Henry Brueggemann, four; Edmund Beall, three. George T. Brown was elected Mayor in 1846 and his brother, Capt. Joseph Brown in 1856. Both John M. Krum and Joseph Brown subsequently removed to St. Louis and each served as mayor of that city. Thomas M. Plope was elected mayor in 1852 and his son, A. W. Hope, in 1875. Charles Howard, the second mayor of Alton, after the close of his term, studied theology and be¬ came a minister of the M. E. church. Ten of the list were lawyers and two editors. The remainder were business men and manu¬ facturers.

In 1827 the legislature located the State penitentiary in Alton on the site of what is now LMcle Remus park. It was completed in 1831-2 and was the first state institution erected in Illinois. It was located on land ceded by William Russell. In 1857-8 the pris¬ oners were removed to the new penitentiary at Joliet. During the war the old buildings at Alton were occupied by the government as a military prison.

Alton had a part of some prominence in the Black Hawk war - just how much it is diffi¬ cult to state, but at least two companies were enrolled here, one under Capt. David Smith and another under Capt. Josiah Little. Solo¬ mon Pruitt was the first captain of the former company but was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Maj. N. Buckmaster, of Edwardsville, later of Alton, also commanded a battallion in this war, made up of companies from Madison and St. Clair.

After the close of the Indian troubles of 1832 Alton increased rapidly in business and population. It was considered the most de¬ sirable location on the east side of the river. Still it was realized, even then, that St. Louis was still better situated for a commercial cen¬ ter and that Alton could only hope for the trade of the back country and a share of river commerce. St. Louis was settled in 1763, nearly sixty years before Alton was thought of, and was a large and flourishing city be¬ fore Alton was incorporated as a town. Al¬ ton was never a rival of St. Louis, although some speculators and real estate dealers may have represented to credulous buyers that it was bound to become such. The oft-printed hoax that letters were once addressed to "St. Louis near Alton" is a gag perpetrated by some humorist after the collapse of 1837. From 1832 to the close of 1837 the progress of Alton was rapid. Factories and mills were established, wholesale and retail stores multi¬ plied, river trade was brisk, several steam¬ boats being owned in Alton, and every out¬ look was fair for the realization of the dreams of the founders. A fine class of popu¬ lation came in, mainly from the eastern states.

1 hey were men of education and distinction in business or the learned professions; law¬ yers, physicians and ministers of the gospel. Churches were established, schools opened, lodges and societies organized and newspa¬ pers established, the first newspaper being the Alton Spectator, founded at Upper Alton, in January, 1832, by O. M. Adams and Edward Breath. It was removed to Alton in October of the same year. Its publication was con¬ tinued by various proprietors until 1839. Next, the Alton Telegraph was founded in January, 1836, by R. M. Treadway and L. A. Parks and its publication continued by the latter and various partners until 18 S5 when its subscription list was sold to the

Alton Courier. The latter paper ceased to exist in 1861, when the Telegraph was re¬ vived by Mr. Parks and others, and is still published. In 1836 Elijah P. Lovejoy com¬ menced the publication of the Alton Observer, an anti-slavery paper, and its troubled history and the riots following its publication, form the darkest page in Alton's history. The mur¬ der of Lovejoy by a pro-slavery mob is told in Chapter IX.

The tragedy came at an unfortunate time as far as concerned its effect on the town. The panic of 1837 was then on. The banks suspended specie payments. The great rail¬ way scheme of the state, which contemplated various railways centering at Alton, collapsed, and the value of property shrank well nigh to the vanishing point. This commercial condi¬ tion, together with the universal horror cre¬ ated over the country by the pro-slavery riots, combined to puncture the brilliant bubble of prosperity, and dissipated the last hope, if any existed, of any future rivalry with St. Louis. When the tale of the riots was spread over the land the public press was unsparing in condemnation because the right of free speech was involved.

But what did Alton more damage than the riot itself was the judicial procedure that followed. At the next session of the Alton municipal court, held in January, 1838, the grand jury found indictments against both the defenders of the press and certain of the riot¬ ers. The cases came to trial and the defend¬ ers of the press were, of course, acquitted, but so were the rioters also. The fact that a grand jury would indict men who were de¬ fending their lives on private property and that a petit jury would find the assailants "not guilty" was a deadly blow to the reputa¬ tion of the place. It was a judicial endorse¬ ment of crime and violence, and branded the city, in the eyes of the outside world, as a law-breaking community. Not only did it cause immigration to cease but hundreds of the best citizens, seeing the results of the panic, the riot and the acquittal of the rioters, despaired of the future and moved away to more promising fields. Among them were men who won honor, wealth and distinction elsewhere and would have made Alton fam¬ ous and prosperous had they remained. Their loss was irreparable. And few came to take their places. No allowance was ever made in the public mind abroad for the fact that the majority of the rioters were from St. Louis, St. Charles and elsewhere. Alton had to bear all the odium because the authorities failed to enforce the law.

But "times change and men change with them," and on the sixtieth anniversary of the death of Lovejoy a stately monument in his honor was dedicated in the Alton City ceme¬ tery erected by the State of Illinois and citi¬ zens of Alton.

At the time of the riot the population of Alton was 2,500, and it was not until about 1844-45 that the place began to rally from the blow that had fallen upon its early prosperity. But the great impetus to its upbuilding came with the advent of the railroads. The first road built was the Alton & Sangamon, the first link in the C. & A. A charter was granted to its projectors in 1847 and the road was completed to Springfield in 1852. The great inspirer and promoter of this road was Capt. Benjamin Godfrey, who mortgaged everything he possessed to secure the comple¬ tion of the road.

In their great business enterprises and their beneficencies Capt. Godfrey and his partner, Winthrop S. Gilman, were to the Alton of the early day what the late John E. Hayner and William Eliot Smith were to the Alton of the present generation.

It is a curious fact that both these pioneer railroad men were retired sea captains who sailed the sea for years prior to engaging in great transportation enterprises on shore. Their descendants are still honored residents of Alton and vicinity.

Prior to the advent of railroads, and for some years thereafter, Alton was largely enthose days what the late Capt. G. W. Hill was and Captains William and Henry Leyhe are to the business in the present generation. But no river steamer of the present day makes the time of the old Altona which made the run from Alton to St. Louis in 55 minutes and the return in an hour and thirty-seven minutes. But there was no government in¬ spection in those days and the rival steamers raced gaged in river trade. Steamboats and steam¬ boat lines were owned here and it was, at one time, the head of navigation for New Or¬ leans packets. Afterwards, before the rail¬ roads were extended from Alton to St. Louis, all passengers and freight arriving here bound for St. Louis were transferred to steamers at this point. Among the passengers thus transferred across our wharf was the Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward VII, of England. This was in '60. The river kings of those days were such men as Capt. Joseph Brown, Capt. W. P. LaMothe and Capt. John A. Bruner, who were, to the river trade of

In 1844 came the great flood in the Missis¬ sippi which has not since been surpassed. In 1844 steamers were' able to sail across the American Bottom to the bluffs. But in 1903 the river rose almost as high as in 1844. In both the destructive inundations of 1844 and 1903 the Mississippi and the Missouri were one great stream entirely submerging Mis¬ souri point for a distance of thirty miles and extending from the bluffs on the Mississippi to the range on the further side of the Mis¬ souri. In 1903 all the railroads running into

St. Louis from the east with one or two ex¬ ceptions and via the Bellefontaine bridge over the Missouri were inundated and the passen¬ gers and mails to and from St. Louis were transferred by steamer between Alton and St. Louis, as in the old days.

In 1840 Daniel Webster visited Alton. He was then a candidate for the Whig nom¬ ination for president. He was banqueted at the Alton House on Front street. Champagne flowed freely and Webster afterwards made a speech from the porch where he was said to have maintained his equilibrium by holding on tightly to the railing. He missed the nom¬ ination however which went to General Har¬ rison. The latter was elected in the great Tippecanoe & Tyler, too'' campaign which followed.

In 1846 war broke out between the United States and Mexico and Alton was made the place of rendezvous for all the troops from Illinois. Six regiments were organized and equipped here, beside several independent companies. All took steamers here for the Gulf, except one regiment which went from here up the Missouri river to Fort Leaven¬ worth and thence marched across the plains. To this regiment belonged the late Captain D. R. Sparks who then ranked as corporal. Col. A. F. Rodgers and the late Captain W. R. Wright were privates in Colonel Bissell's regi¬ ment. All three of these soldiers served with honor in the Civil war. Colonel Rodgers is the only survivor of the Mexican war now re¬ siding in Alton. Four Alton officers were killed at Buena Vista and their bodies brought home for burial after the war. They were Capt. J. W. Baker and Lieutenants Fergu¬ son, Robbins and Fletcher. Their bodies now rest in the City cemetery. When their re¬ mains arrived from Mexico they were hon¬

Alton furnished a large contingent of vol¬ unteers for this war, the last company ac¬ cepted by the government being a troop of cavalry under Capt. Josias Little of Upper Alton who was also a captain in the Black Hawk war.

In 1842 occurred the alleged duel between Lincoln and Shields, which terminated in a ridiculous fiasco in which no blood was shed. It was to have taken place across the river immediately opposite Alton to which point the principals and seconds repaired by ferry boat after driving to Alton in carriages. The de¬ tails of this affair of honor are narrated in Chapter XXVII.

Alton early took rank as a literary center; Captain Benj. Godfrey founded Monticello seminary in 1835; and Alton seminary, later Shurtleff college, opened its doors to students in 1834* Rev. Hubbel Loomis, of revered memory, and John Russell, were the first in¬ structors.

In 1849 Alton was visited with an epidemic of cholera, which proved fatal to many. In St. Louis it was a frightful scourge. As an illustiation of its ravages I give the following incident related to me by Capt. William H. Hayden of Springfield, at that time a resi¬ dent of Alton : A family living in St. Louis, named Bergen, came to Alton to try and es¬ cape the scourge, the son of the family, which consisted of seven persons, having died. On arriving in Alton the family went to the home of Judge Bailhache, Mrs. Bergen being a rela¬ tive. Previous to their coming Mrs. Bail¬ hache had died of the cholera. Soon after ar¬ riving, Mr. Bergen was taken ill with the dis¬ ease and Captain Hayden went over to help care for him at night and stayed with him until the patient died at 3 o'clock in the morn¬ ing. Mr. Hayden then went home to obtain a little rest, and returned at 8 o'clock. Mrs. Bergen met him at the door, and exclaimed, "Oh, don't I have trouble." At half past two in the afternoon, of the same day, Mrs. Ber¬ gen herself died, and two daughters quickly followed, leaving two other daughters as sole survivors of a family of seven. 1 he two girls remaining were cared for at the home of Mr. Hayden's parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Hayden. This is simply an illustration of the terrible character of the disease and the frightful rapidity with which it wrought its deadly work.

Two Presidents Visited Alton Two presidents visited Alton during their term of office. One was Millard Fillmore, who was here in 1851 or 1852. He probably arrived by river as, in departing, he took the train for Springfield at the old stone depot. President Andrew Johnson also visited Alton while he was in office in his famous "swing around the circle." He made a speech at a stand at the corner of Front and Piasa streets. William H. Seward, secretary of state, also spoke. General Grant was in the party but was silent as a sphinx, yet got all the applause. The presidential party was met here by a fleet of twenty-eight steamers who escorted the president to St. Louis. Commodore foseph Brown was in command of the fleet.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate The closing debate between Lincoln and Douglas in the famous contest of 1858 was held in Alton on October 15th of that year. The details will be found in Chapter XXL the state, was organized in Alton, April 4, 1839, with B. F. Long as president and M. G. Atwood secretary, and soon attained a high rank. I have not the names of the original directors, but in 1845 the directors were: John Atwood, Samuel G. Bailey, John Bailhache, Alfred Dow, M. G. Atwood, B. F. Edwards, O. M. Adams, B. K. Hart, John James, B. F. Long, Elias Hibbard, Robert Smith, G. W. Long, Wm. F. DeWolf, Geo. B. Arnold. The officers were: B. F. Long, president; M. G. Atwood, secretary; Geo. B. Arnold, treasurer. In 1866 the officers were: M. G. Atwood, pres¬ ident; John Atwood, secretary; H. W. Bill¬ ings, counsellor ; L. Kellenberger, treasurer ; with Samuel Wade, Henry Lea, Lyman Trum¬ bull, F. A. Hofifman, J. W. Schweppe, C. A. Caldwell, M. H. Topping and M. G. Dale, added to or replacing others in the directorate. The company had agencies all over the state and for many years was a flourishing institu¬ tion. It built a fine office in Middletown and around it were grouped the residences of the officials. The locality was locally called "Insuranceville." The office was subsequently moved to what is now the Masonic building on State street. It extended its operations and entered the insurance field in Chicago where it met its fate. It was wiped out by the great conflagration of 1871 which de¬ stroyed the great part of that city. Many other insurance companies were swrept out of existence by the same unprecedented calamity.

Alton was the residence of many distin¬ guished men including three U. S. senators: David Baker, Sr., James Semple and Lyman Truffibull. Also of Hon. Cyrus Edwards, who served many terms in the state legisla¬ ture, both houses, and in 1838 was the Whig candidate for governor.

One of the most exciting political cam¬ paigns o.f later days was that of 1880 between Garfield and Hancock. Great meetings, flam¬ ing torchlight processions and general illu- ruinations were features of the campaign. The presidential canvass of 1896, between McKinley and Bryan was almost equally ex¬ citing but was devoid of the great parades of 1880. Politically, for the last fifty years Al¬ ton has been almost equally divided between the two great parties with a preponderance in favor of the Republicans the last few years.

the Illinois Glass Works. Begun in a small way the plant rapidly expanded. It is now the largest manufacturer of hollow glass ware in the world. Its plant covers an area of fifty acres. Its success is a monument to the financial genius of William Eliot Smith. Other large industrial enterprises followed which, in connection with the glass plant, demonstrated in a practical way the advant¬ ages of the city as an industrial centre.

planned and successfully executed exploit of the opening days of the Civil war. It was conducted by Capt. James B. Stokes of Chi¬ cago, acting under authority of Governor Yates. He was ably assisted by Col. S. A. Buckmaster, of Alton, who was also in the confidence of the governor.

Alton's part in the Civil war is narrated in Chapter XXXVI and will not be reviewed here. During the war Alton was a military post on the border and was a lively place commercially, but after peace was declared there came a slump in its prosperity that lasted over fifteen years. Times were so dull real estate could hardly be given away. The renaissance came with the establishment of what are now current events stand out in greater relative significance. But present conditions may be adverted to and correct in¬ ferences drawn therefrom. Its progress in education as reflected in its splendid schools, colleges and academies, its libraries and liter- .ary societies, is related elsewhere. Its trade and commerce are shown in its hundreds of wholesale and retail stores and warehouses. Its industries in many of the largest plants in the Mississippi valley. Its religious aspir¬ ations in over a score of stately churches and the spacious edifice of the Y. M. C. A. Its municipal expansion in the addition to its territory of North Alton in 1908 and Upper Alton in 1911, giving it now an aggregate population of 21,000. Its welcome to tran¬ sients is expressed in ample hotel accommo¬ dations for visitors. The two largest hostelries are the Hotel Madison and the Illini, the latter lately completed at a cost of $175,- 000. It is equipped with every improvement known to metropolitan life.

Secret and fraternal lodges and societies are numbered by the score and have a large membership. Alton is the birth place of Odd Fellowship in Illinois, the order having been instituted here in 1837, and Free Masonry the same year.

The history of Free Masonry in Madison county seems to date back to organization of Franklin Lodge, No. 25, on November 25, I&37- Franklin Lodge was under the jurisdic¬ tion of the Grand Lodge of Missouri until 1844 when it came under the care of the newly-formed Grand Lodge of Illinois. It was moved from Alton city to Upper Alton in 1843. Charles Howard, the second mayor of Alton, was the first master of Franklin lodge. Piasa Lodge, No. 27, was constituted October 9, 1844. The orders of the craft are now represented in Alton as follows: Alton Chapter No. 8, R. A. M. ; Alton Council No. 3, R. .& S. M. ; Belvidere Commandry No. 2, Iv. T., chartered September 18, 1853; Frank¬ lin Lodge, No. 25, as above, and Franklin Chapter No. 15, R. A. M. Other lodges were formed in years past, among them Er¬ win Lodge, No. 315, which appear to have been merged with other lodges.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows was introduced into Illinois by Samuel L. Mil¬ ler, by the organization of Western Star lodge, No. 1, in 1837. Wildey Encampment, No. 1, was constituted July 11, 1838. A Grand Lodge of the State was instituted in Alton the same year. Other organizations followed. At present the order is represented in Alton by Western Star, No. 1, Wildey En¬ campment, No. 1, Alton Lodge, No. 475, Up¬ per Alton, No. 466, Carlin Lodge, No. 248, D. of R. The I. O. O. F. own their own build¬ ing which, besides their own spacious hall houses Temple theatre and various stores and offices. The Masonic Order have a fine four-story building on State street and have just acquired adjoining property for a new edifice. The Elks and the Eagles also own spacious and elegant new homes of their own. The Knights of Pythias have been repre¬ sented in Alton since early in the history of the order. Fleur de Lys Lodge, No. 68, has a large membership. Of fraternal insurance orders the M. W. A. have the largest member¬ ship.

Alton is provided with all the public im¬ provements and utilities any modern city can boast. She has thirty miles of paved streets within her limits and four or five more in pro¬ cess of construction. She has ten miles of street railroads within her corporate limits. Two Interurban lines, the Alton, Granite & St. Louis, and the Alton, Jacksonville & Peoria, the latter completed fifteen miles out of Alton. 1 wo telephone systems, the Bell and the Kinloch, both providing local and long distance service. Two telegraph com¬ panies, the Postal and the Western Union. A public heating plant, gas works and an elec¬ tric lighting system. A complete system of water works, which, in connection with a finely equipped fire department affords ample fire protection. The water works system is built on the gravity plan with hydrants all over the city. Capacity of machinery, 10,- 000,000 gallons daily. The fire department has five engine houses provided with three horse trucks and two motor trucks.

The postal service of Alton is metropolitan with a free delivery system covering the en¬ tire city including the North Alton and Upper Alton additions. The office is first class in rank and the government building lately erected for P. O. purposes, at the corner of Third and Alby streets, at a cost of $90,000, is modern in every particular. The postmas¬ ters of Alton and Upper Alton have been as follows, the names of those postmasters of what became Upper Alton being given first :

Name of office changed to Upper Alton, David Smith, postmaster - date of appoint¬ ment, July 27, 1835; Andrew Clifford, post¬ master - date of appointment, June 19, 1844; John Cooper, postmaster - date of appointment - Aug. 3, 1844; David Smith, postmaster - date of appointment, June 2, 1845 1 Franklin Hewitt, postmaster - date of appointment, April 27. 1849; Joseph Chapman, postmaster - date of appointment, June 2, 1853; James Smith, postmaster - date of appointment, Sept. 24, 1858; Aaron Butler, postmaster - date of appointment, April 8. 1861 ; T. B. Hurlbut, postmaster - date of appointment, Mar. 28, 1865; Aaron Butler, postmaster - date of appointment, May 21, 1867; J. H. Weeks, postmaster - date of appointment, Jan. 30, 1877; Mark Dickson, postmaster - date of appointment, Aug. 11, 1885; J. H. Weeks, postmaster - date of appointment, April 29, 1889; Wm. L. Gillham, postmaster - date of appointment, April 14, 1894; H. A. Marsh, postmaster - date of appointment, Jan. 10, 1898; J. G. Seitz, postmaster - date of ap¬ pointment, March 14, 1902.

Name of office changed to Alton; Jacob C. Bruner, postmaster - date of appointment, Oct. 16, 1835 ; Nathaniel Buckmaster, postmaster - - date of appointment, Apr. 13, 1838; Cyrus Ed¬ wards, postmaster - date of appointment, Aug. 6, 1841 ; B. F. Edwards, postmaster - date of appointment, July 12, 1843; John Hatch, post¬ master - date of appointment, Oct. 11, 1844; Peter Merrill, postmaster - date of appoint¬ ment, July 31, 1845; Timothy Souther, post¬ master - date of appointment, May 24, 1847; R. W. English, postmaster - date of appoint¬ ment, November 11, 1853; J. G. Lamb, post¬ master - date of appointment, Mar. 30, 1861 ; I. J. Richmond, postmaster - date of appoint¬ ment, Jan. 26, 1875; Chas. Holden, Jr., post¬ master - date of appointment, May 31, 1878; T. H. Perrin, postmaster - date of appoint¬ ment, July 3, 1886; W. T. Norton, postmaster - date of appointment, Sept. 6, 1889; John Buckmaster, postmaster - date of appointment, April 14, 1894; Julia Buckmaster, postmistress - date of appointment, Dec. 1, 1896; W. T. Norton, postmaster - date of appointment, May 10, 1897; Henry Brueggemann, postmaster - date of appointment, Feb. 5, 1906.

These lists show that the office which be¬ came Upper Alton was established August 27, 1819, under the name of Alton. The name was changed to Salu in 1824; changed back to Alton in 1826, and to Upper Alton in 1835, which name it retained until consoli¬ dated with the Alton office in 1912. The Al¬ ton office was first named Lower Alton and was established in 1831. The name was changed to Alton in 1835 which it has since retained. The receipts of the Alton postoffice for the year ending September 30, 1911, were $42,202.32. The disbursements for the same period were $28,338.54. Sur¬ plus earnings forwarded to department, $13,-

863.78. This is a handsome showing- of the business prosperity of Alton. It does not include Upper Alton which continues an in¬ dependent office at this writing-.

The Madison County Gazetteer, of 1866, says: In 1830 there were few permanent set¬ tlers located in the village. Among those who arrived in 1831 were B. I. Gilman, Edward Bliss, William Manning, Samuel Wade, Sam¬ uel ^ Avis, Mark Pierson, William Hayden, Elijah Haydon, A. C. Hankinson, J. D. Smith,

J. S. Lane, J. T. Hudson and R. M. Dunlap. Thos. G. Hawley had come some time previ¬ ous, as had George and John Quigley, also Andrew Miller. Winthrop S. Gilman came in 1829. William Hall came in the early thir¬ ties. He built a frame house in upper Middletown wffiich is still standing. Samuel Pitts, Sr., came in 1836, W. W. Cary also in 1836, and Rev. A. T. Norton in 1839, although he came to the state in 1835.

The Gazetteer also gives a list of many resi¬ dents who were here prior to the close of 1840. I copy those not mentioned in some previous connection: Hezekiah Davis, Wil¬ liam McCorkle, M. Gillespie, William Bar¬ rett, J. A. Langdon, Richard Shipley, S. H. Denton, John Quigley, Isaac Negus, S. C. Pierce, J. T. Thurston, George Kelley, Eli Foster, O. J. Foster, Samuel Bush, J. W.

Among others who were here in the thirties were James S. Stone, Andrew Alexander, A. W. Corey, Samuel Thurston, B. F. Long, Beale Howard. J. A. Langdon, Charles Holmes, W. H. Robertson, Geo. W. Fuller, Orrin Cooley, D. T. Wheeler, Nathan Johnson, A. Olney. In Upper Alton the names of Enoch Long, Isaac Waters, H. K. Lathy and Henry H. Snow may be added to those resident there prior to 1821.

Of leading German citizens who were early residents of Alton, Fred Hoffmeister, who came here in 1833, seems to have been the vanguard. Dr. F. Humbert came to Upper Alton in 1836. Hon. Geo. H. Weigler in 1838. He became prominent in public life; was a justice of the peace, member of the city council many years, and a representative in the general assembly in 1874-6. Hon. J. H. Yager, who came here prior to the war, having previously lived in Edwardsville, filled many public offices including state s attorney and member of both houses of the state legis¬ lature. Among other leading German citi¬ zens who settled in Alton at an early date may be mentioned A. L. Hoppe, the Joesting families, C. and F. Wuerker, J. W. and H. Schweppe, R. Maerdian, J. J. Hartmann, An¬ drew Rosenberger, Philip Maurer, Henry Neinhaus, G. A. Deterding, M. Jaeckel, Chas. Rodemeyer, Philip Wenzel, Dr. E. Guelich, Joseph Floss, Col. John H. Kuhn, Jacob Kuhn, H. M. Tonsor, William Sonntag, R. Gossrau, Louis Berner, Anton Sauvage, Theodore Lehne, H. F. Lehne, R. J. Bierbaum, Charles and N. Seibold, Maj. Emil Adam. Many of the descendants of these early German residents are among the leading business men of Alton today.

Among those who arrived here in 1831 and survived to an honored old age in Alton were Samuel Wade and William Hayden. Mr. Wade served four terms as mayor.

Of the pioneer business men named above Charles Phinney was the last survivor. He died in 1904, aged 94 years. He established himself in the grocery business here in 1838 and conducted it personally until his last ill¬ ness in 1904, a period of sixty-six years - a record almost without parallel - of active business life.

The industries of the Alton of today are many and various. They are headed by the Illinois Glass Co., employing 3,500 hands. This is a monument to the wonderful enter¬ prise of Edward Levis, Sr., William Eliot Smith and their successors, the five Levis brothers, who now head this great enterprise the largest bottle factory in the world.

The Glass Company turns out ten million gross of bottles annually, equal to 144,000,000. Value of product, $2,500,000. The officers are: Geo. M. Levis, president; R. H. Levis, vice president; Charles Levis, secretary; and J. M. Levis, treasurer.

Each mill has a capacity of 3,000 barrels of flour per day. James T. Corbett is superinten¬ dent of the Stanard- 1 flton mill. The officers of the Sparks Company are : H. B. Sparks, president; F. R. Milnor and W. L. Sparks! vice presidents ; C. F. Sparks, treasurer ; Geo. S. Milnor, secretary.

Other great idustries are Beall Bros.' three factories, the first of miners' tools and miners' supplies; the second of high grade shovels, spades and scoops; the third (at East Alton) of heavy hammers and railroad track tools. The value of the output of the three factories annually is $1,000,000. The officers are: J. W. Beall, president; A. M. Beall, vice presi¬ dent; E. H. Beall, treasurer; and Charles L. Beall, secretary and manager of East Alton branch.

The Alton Brick Company conducts a mam¬ moth plant turning out 185,000 brick daily. Edward Rodgers is president and Eben Rod¬ gers, secretary of this enterprise which is revo¬ lutionizing road building in Illinois.

The Duncan Bros. Foundry and Machine Shop is another notable enterprise of vast di¬ mensions, of which the three brothers, James, William M. and George D. Duncan, are the proprietors. They operate the American Coal Washer Co., with James Duncan, president; Geo. D. Duncan, vice president; W. M. Dun¬ can, secretary and treasurer. Also the Illi¬ nois Stoker Company, with James Duncan, president ; W. M. Duncan, vice president ; and Geo. D. Duncan, treasurer. The annual out¬ put of these factories is valued at $500,000, and is shipped to all parts of the United States and Canada.

The Illinois Corrugated Paper Company manufactures strawboard products of all kinds and although a new enterprise is one of the great industries of the city.

lished their famous factory in Alton. The original partners were Chas. H. Hapgood, John Lane and Geo. R. Laughton. As the years passed on they revolutionized the indus¬ try by putting on the market the Riding Plow and the Hancock Disc Plow which swept the country. The concern has patronage from all countries of the civilized world. It is now owned by H. L. Black, C. H. Hapgood having retired, but retains the old name.

Other industries of note are: Luer Bros.' Packing plants, the C. F. Sparks Machine Co., which has built many of the finest yachts on the river, four planing mills, four ice plants, mam¬ moth box factory, two carriage factories, three bottling plants, numerous lime kiln and stone crusher plants, two breweries, a broom fac¬ tory, rug factory, several extensive quarries, etc., etc., in all some seventy plants with an a§'§'reg'ate output in value of some $35,000,- 000 per annum. Adjoining Alton are The Stoneware Pipe Co., the Equitable Powder Manufacturing Co., the Western Cartridge Co., with branch in Alton city, Beall Bros.' Tool Works, the Federal Lead Works, the laigest smelter of the Guggenheim system, the Alton Boxboard and Paper Co., a new but im¬ mense concern, the Standard Oil Refinery, the largest western branch of that great corpor¬ ation. Wood River, town, and Benbow, city, are the outgrowth of this great industry.

Other features : City hall, twenty-five churches, modern theatres, two public li¬ braries, two Old People's Homes, two public parks, Rock Spring park, containing 75 acres ; large hospital, 200 mercantile houses, four¬ teen public school buildings, one college, one military school, three academies, several pa¬ rochial schools, two business colleges, modern hotels, Y. M. C. A. building, cost $50,000, nearly one hundred social, fraternal and literaiy organizations, seven building and loan as¬ sociations, five banks with resources of $5,490-, 303 and deposits of $4,889,403.