East Alton is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Madison County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The population was 5,786 at the 2020 census, down from 6,301 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

History

East Alton was incorporated as a village in 1893 (some say 1894). William Cobb, namesake of Cobb Street, was one of the first mayors, from 1895 to 1896, and again in 1902–1905. Like many River Bend communities, the town dates back to when European settlers came to the area in the early 19th century. And it wasn't always East Alton — the community was known as Emerald, Milton Settlement and Alton Junction. Alton Junction was also known as Wann Junction, famous locally for being the site of a horrific rail disaster.

Geography

East Alton is located in northwestern Madison County at (38.883397, -90.106113). It is bordered to the northwest by the city of

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) * Alton (surname) Places Australia * Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zeala ...

, to the east by unincorporated Rosewood Heights, to the southeast by the city of Wood River, and to the southwest by the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, with

West Alton, Missouri West Alton is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 359 at the 2020 census. It is located at the tip of the peninsula formed by the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and is directly across Alto ...

, on the opposite shore. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, East Alton has a total area of , of which are land and , or 2.87%, are water. The Wood River flows through the northern and western parts of the village and forms the village's western border (with Alton) for some of its distance. The river joins the Mississippi in the southern part of the village.

Illinois Route 3 Illinois Route 3 (IL 3) is a major north–south arterial state highway in southwestern Illinois. It has its southern terminus at Cairo Junction (about north of Cairo, Illinois, Cairo) at the intersection of U.S. Route 51 in Illinois, U.S ...

(Lewis and Clark Boulevard) passes through the southwest part of the village, leading northwest into Alton and south to East St. Louis. Illinois Route 143 (Berm Highway) follows the Mississippi along the village's southern edge, leading northwest to the center of Alton and east to the center of Wood River. Illinois Routes 111 and 140 run together along the northern border of the village, leading west into Alton and east into Bethalto.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 6,830 people, 2,965 households, and 1,787 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 3,171 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.72%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.94%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.18% from other races, and 1.52% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.02% of the population. There were 2,965 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.95. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $28,404, and the median income for a family was $35,655. Males had a median income of $36,770 versus $20,865 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $15,572. About 7.8% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

East Alton is home to the

Olin Corporation Olin Corporation is an American manufacturer of ammunition, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide. The company traces its roots to two companies, both founded in 1892: Franklin W. Olin's Equitable Powder Company and the Mathieson Alkali Works. Acciden ...

, a manufacturer of

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

. Olin has a major impact on East Alton and its surrounding communities. A part of town called the Defense Area was built during the 1940s and until recently was used for low income housing. Replacing the Defense Area is Emerald Ridge, which consists of 46 new single-family homes. The impact of Olin had spread into town sports: East Alton Middle School's athletic teams were originally named the Bullets. The EPA was overseeing the cleanup of an Olin Corp. facility in East Alton by 2021, taking public comments on Olin's proposed cleanup plan to contaminated soil and groundwater in July 2021.

Points of interest

East Alton is located in the Greater Metropolitan area of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. Thus, all the attractions and facilities of that major city are equally available to residents of East Alton and nearby communities. Additionally, East Alton is minutes away from the origination point of the Journey of Discovery (

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

) located in nearby

Hartford, Illinois Hartford is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near the mouth of the Missouri River. The population was 1,185 at the 2020 census, down from 1,429 in 2010. Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1803-04 t ...

. Educational institutions in the area include

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. Located within the Metro East of Greater St. Louis, SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Ca ...

, the SIUE Dental School in

Principia College Principia College is a private liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois. It was founded in 1912 by Mary Kimball Morgan with the purpose of "serving the Cause of Christian Science." Morgan wrote in her book, Education at the Principia that, "Alt ...

in Elsah and

Lewis and Clark Community College Lewis and Clark Community College is a public community college in Godfrey, Illinois. It serves approximately 3,973 credit and non-credit students annually. The college has nine locations throughout the St. Louis Metro East, including a campu ...

in Godfrey. Van Preter Park is the main park in East Alton. This park consists of four baseball diamonds, two playground units, two small pavilions and one large pavilion. Bill Tite Memorial - Lions Park is located on the north side of the Keasler Recreation Complex. The entrance is in the 300 block of Ohio Street. This park consists of a large playground unit, two swing set units with toddler seats, a climbing unit, see-saw rider, two large multiple play stations, picnic tables, park benches, barbecue grills, and green space. The park underwent improvements in late 2015. The East Alton Post Office contains a mural, ''The Letter'', painted in 1937 by Frances Foy. Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the

through the

Section of Painting and Sculpture Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section s ...

, later called the

Section of Fine Arts Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

, of the Treasury Department. The East Alton History Museum officially opened on March 4, 2017, and is located in the Fred H. Bright Jr. Vital Services Building, 119 N. Main Street. The building, which houses the East Alton Police department, was renamed the same day in honor of the former Mayor.

Notable people

* Joe Astroth, catcher for the

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

when they were based in Philadelphia and Kansas City * Fred Olsen invented the ball propellant manufacturing process here. * Jayden Ulrich, 2024 Paris Olympian-Discus Throw

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Madison County, Illinois Illinois populated places on the Mississippi River Villages in Illinois