Cottage Hills is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Madison County, Illinois, United States. In 2018, the Cottage Hills
ZIP Code area served a population of 3,604.
Cottage Hills is west of
Bethalto, north of
Rosewood Heights, east of
East Alton, and is a part of the
St. Louis Metro Area. Cottage Hills has a post office with
ZIP code 62018. Between 1915 and 1980 a railway under the name of St. Louis Division Old Line used to pass through the community. Similar to most communities in Madison County, Cottage Hills is a
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
.
History
Cottage Hills was likely inhabited around the same time as the other parts of
Madison County, becoming primarily used for farming. Due to this, during the late 1800s a train station used for loading grain was established. Cottage Hills during this time was originally known as Possum Ridge, for its location on the edge of the Mississippi Bluffs.
Following the 1934 purchase of the Stoker Family's farm in the region, work on building a suburb in the region began, fueled mostly by people moving out of Bethalto. Between 1934 and the 1950s, Cottage Hills grew in size substantially, with a post office being established in 1941. During this time the Rio Theater opened, closing in 1956. From 1934 to the late 1950s, Cottage Hills developed into a community of around 4,000 people.
In the coming decades, Cottage Hills would slowly decline, with the railway that passed through eventually closing and being torn down. It was replaced with a
bike path
A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...
built in 2018.
During the late 20th century, Cottage Hills' economy would slowly die out, with most people going to Bethalto or Alton for their entertainment and food needs. Due to this, industries like the
motor industry developed heavily during this time, with the main road, MacArthur Drive, or
Route 140 becoming a large hub for motor specific buildings. With the industry contributing about half of the locally employed people in the community.
References
Unincorporated communities in Madison County, Illinois
Unincorporated communities in Illinois
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