Granite City is a city in

Madison County, Illinois Madison County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a part of the Metro East in southern Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 264,776, making it the eighth-most populous county in ...

, United States, within the

Greater St. Louis Greater St. Louis is the 23rd-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the largest in Missouri, and the second-largest in Illinois. Its core city—St. Louis, Missouri—sits in the geographic center of the metro area, ...

metropolitan area. The population was 27,549 at the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the

Metro East The Metro East is an urban area in Southern Illinois, United States that contains the eastern and northern urban, suburban, and exurban areas on the Mississippi River in Greater St. Louis. It encompasses eight Illinois counties and constitutes ...

and

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

regions, behind Belleville and O'Fallon. Officially founded in 1896, Granite City was named by the Niedringhaus brothers, William and

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

, who established it as a

steel making Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and/or scrap. Steel has been made for millennia, and was commercialized on a massive scale in the 1850s and 1860s, using the Bessemer and Siemens-Martin processes. Currently, two majo ...

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

for the manufacture of

graniteware Frederick Gottlieb Niedringhaus (October 21, 1837 – November 25, 1922) was a German-born American businessman and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri. Early life Niedringhaus was born on October 21, 1837, in Lübbecke ...

kitchen utensils.

History

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 km) from

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. Soon after, around 1806, the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

was to be constructed through the area, but it was never completed. By 1817, the area became known as Six Mile Prairie, to distinguish it from Six Mile Township. By 1854, the first railroad was built. In 1856, the area known as Six Mile would be changed to Kinder.

Granite ware

Granite City was founded in 1896 to be a planned company city similar to

Pullman, Illinois Pullman, one of Chicago's 77 defined community areas, is a neighborhood located on the city's South Side. Twelve miles from the Chicago Loop, Pullman is situated adjacent to Lake Calumet. The area known as Pullman encompasses a much wider ...

, by German immigrant brothers

Frederick G. Niedringhaus Frederick Gottlieb Niedringhaus (October 21, 1837 – November 25, 1922) was a German-born American businessman and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri. Early life Niedringhaus was born on October 21, 1837, in Lübbecke ...

and William Niedringhaus for their

Granite ware Frederick Gottlieb Niedringhaus (October 21, 1837 – November 25, 1922) was a German-born American businessman and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri. Early life Niedringhaus was born on October 21, 1837, in Lübbecke ...

kitchen supplies factory. Since 1866, the Niedringhaus brothers had been operating the St. Louis Stamping Company, an iron works company, that made

kitchen utensil A kitchen utensil is a small hand-held tool used for food preparation. Common kitchen tasks include cutting food items to size, heating food on an open fire or on a stove, baking, grinding, mixing, blending, and measuring; different utensils ar ...

s in

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 ...

. In the 1870s, William discovered an

enamelware Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word ''vitreous'' comes ...

process in Europe whereby metal utensils could be coated with enamel to make them lighter and more resistant to

oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

. At the time, most enamelware was usually just one color as the additions of any colors to the process was inefficient. On June 1, 1878, William applied for Patent 207543 to improve the efficiency whereby a pattern could be applied to enamelware while the enamel was still wet simply by placing a thin piece of paper with an oxidized pattern on top of it. The paper would fall off in the drying process and the pattern would be embedded. The brothers' pattern made the utensils resemble granite. The resulting product was enormously popular. The brothers opened the Granite Iron Rolling Mills in St. Louis to provide

tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...

(imported from

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

) to its prospering kitchen supplies manufacturer. The imported tin had a $22 per ton

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

. Frederick ran for Congress in Missouri in 1888. During his one term in the 51st Congress, he successfully urged the passage of a new tariff of 50 percent of value on imported iron and tin.Made in USA: East St. Louis by Andrew J. Theising - Virginia Publishing (June 2003)
With the increased tariff, the U.S. steel industry (including their iron plant) took off. As they planned expansion of their

Bessemer process The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is steelmaking, removal of impurities and undesired eleme ...

steel works, they were blocked by the city of St. Louis which did not want the expansion. As well, the

Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is a Class III switching and terminal railroad that handles traffic in the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is co-owned by five of the six Class I railroads that reach the city. Present operation Th ...

planned to tax coal crossing 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 ...

into Missouri. Another large factory in the city was owned by the

Commonwealth Steel Company The Commonwealth Steel Company was an American steel company based in Granite City, Illinois, founded in 1901 "by some of the young men who had helped establish the American Steel Foundry".''Granite City – A pictorial history'' (G. Bradley Publish ...

, a business founded on philanthropic principles in 1901 and acquired by the General Steel Castings Corporation in 1929.

Company town

In 1891, the brothers bought from business tycoon Lars Kovala. This land extended from the

across the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwest, Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of ...

tracks for their new Granite City. With the help of the St. Louis City Engineer, a street grid was laid out with streets listed in alphabetic order plus numbered streets, and the only exception being Niedringhaus Avenue. The Niedringhaus family required that its employees live in the town. Houses were purchased with Niedringhaus mortgages. Unlike Pullman, however, they did not exert major control over the day-to-day lives of their employees and left the government of the city up to the residents. African-Americans were not allowed in the community and instead congregated in Brooklyn, Illinois. The plant would later grow to occupy and employ more than 4,000 people. The plant prospered until the 1950s when

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

, and

pyrex Pyrex (trademarked as ''PYREX'' and ''pyrex'') is a brand introduced by Corning Inc. in 1915, initially for a line of clear, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass used for laboratory glassware and kitchenware. It was later expanded in the 1 ...

replaced iron-based utensils. The granite pattern in kitchen utensils, particularly in roasting pans, remains very popular.

Early history

In 1896, Granite City was officially incorporated as a City within Madison County, Illinois. The first seven years went as planned with rapid growth. Henry Fossiek was hired as the first policeman, a School Board of Directors was appointed by the Mayor, four schools opened, the 1st Church of the Concordian Lutheran Church was built, Stamping Company changed its name to National Enameling & Stamping Company (NESCO), and lots were sold for a new subdivision to be named 'Granite Park' (More commonly known as West Granite, today). Then in 1903, a massive flood covered all of West Granite while the rest of the town stayed relatively dry. In 1906, ten thousand persons emigrated to Granite City from

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

and other parts of Central and Eastern Europe, during a two-year period. The majority of these immigrants, primarily those from the country of Hungary, moved to present-day Lincoln Place. At the time, this area was called 'Hungary Hollow'. During the

Panic of 1907 The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange suddenly fell almost ...

, the neighborhood of Hungary Hollow was nicknamed 'Hungry Hollow', as many immigrants starved during this period. The following year, one of the founding fathers of the city and of NESCO, William Niedringhaus, would die, leading to the beginning of a new era in both the company and the city's future. It was also during this period that St. Joseph Catholic Church was organized and a canal and levee system were built. Methody Bulgarian Church in America was built in Hungary Hollow for the large number of

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

(incl. many

Macedonian Bulgarians Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians (), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional, ethnographic group of ethnic Bulgarians, inhabiting or originating from the region of Ma ...

) living there. At the time, Granite City had the largest concentration of Bulgarians in the country and boasted the only American newspaper printed in the

Bulgarian language Bulgarian (; , ) is an Eastern South Slavic, Eastern South Slavic language spoken in Southeast Europe, primarily in Bulgaria. It is the language of the Bulgarians. Along with the closely related Macedonian language (collectively forming the ...

. After the 1915

Armenian Genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

in the Ottoman Empire, thousands of Armenians fled

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and migrated to the United States. The promise of jobs at steel mills in Granite City created a thriving Armenian community in the town, with many Armenians settling in Lincoln Place. Since then, they have kept a church and community center, along with the Granite City "Antranig" Chapter of the

Armenian Youth Federation The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) () is the youth organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Founded in 1933, the AYF became a global Armenian organization and stands on five pillars that guide its activities: Educational, Hai Tahd ...

. Around 1903, Granite City expelled its African American residents. In 1967, the

Congress of Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...

alleged that Granite City was a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...

. Mayor Donald Partney acknowledged that the city was commonly understood to have a sundown ordinance but denied that it was official.

2000s history

, several large manufacturing corporations operate in the city, including

U.S. Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

, Precoat Metals,

Capri-Sun Capri-Sun ( , ) is a brand of juice concentrate–based drinks manufactured by the German company Wild and regional licensees. Rudolf Wild invented the drink in 1969 and introduced it in West Germany as Capri-Sonne (a name retired in favo ...

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

, Heidtman Steel, Prairie Farms, and American Steel. The clothing retailer

Glik's Glik's is an American retail clothing chain based in Collinsville, Illinois. It was founded in 1897 by Joseph Glik. The chain operates more than 70 locations in 11 states across the Midwestern United States, primarily in Illinois, Michigan, Nebrask ...

is also headquartered in Granite City. In July 2018, President Donald Trump visited the city to deliver a speech about industry growth at the U.S. Steel plant. A 2024 investigation into 17 coke burning facilities in the US estimated that the SunCoke Energy plant in Granite City could be responsible for 6-11 premature deaths, increased

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

symptoms, and other health impacts for residents every year.

Geography

Granite City is located at (38.717849, -90.129529), adjacent to the Chain of Rocks Canal on the

Upper Mississippi River The Upper Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River upstream of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, a city at the confluence of its main tributary, the Missouri River. Historically, it may refer to the area above the Arkansa ...

, bordering Horseshoe Lake on its southeastern side. The city sits in the

American Bottom The American Bottom is the flood plain of the Mississippi River in the Metro East region of Southern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, south to the Kaskaskia River. It is also sometimes called "American Bottoms". The area is about , mos ...

, a wide, flat and fertile plain. Although at risk during the

Great Flood of 1993 The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi River, Mississippi and Missouri River, Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from ...

, the city never flooded and is protected by a series of levees along both the

and Chain of Rocks Canal. Granite City is located within a few miles of five interstate highways. Interstate 270 passes through the northern edge of the city and Interstates 255, 70, 55, and 64 all pass just to the south and east of the city. Route 3 is a major thoroughfare along the western edge of the city and provides access to downtown St. Louis across the recently renovated

McKinley Bridge The McKinley Bridge is a steel truss bridge across the Mississippi River. It connects northern portions of St. Louis, Missouri with Venice, Illinois. It opened in 1910, was taken out of service in 2001 due to disrepair, and reopened in 2007 aft ...

. According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of , of which (or 93.19%) is land and (or 6.81%) is water.

Cityscape

Granite City can be divided into seven areas: Downtown, East Granite, West Granite, North Granite, Nameoki Strip, Bellemore Area and the Wilson Park Area. Most retailers and dining facilities are located on the Nameoki Strip, surrounding Nameoki Road. The Wilson park area is home to the recently renovated Coolidge Middle School, former Niedringhaus Elementary School, and Granite City High School as well as the city's crown jewel, Wilson Park. Wilson Park is sometimes called the "heart" of Granite City and is known for its nicely kept "turn of the

0th 0th or zeroth may refer to: Mathematics, science and technology * 0th or zeroth, an ordinal for the number 0 * 0th dimension, a topological space * 0th element, of a data structure in computer science * Zeroth law of thermodynamics, 0th law of The ...

century" homes. East Granite is less defined, but is mostly modern residential subdivisions as well as both St. Elizabeth and Holy Family Catholic Schools. East Granite is north of the blast furnace at US Steel. US Steel's complex was formerly known as the Granite City Steel Co. Downtown is at the southwestern part of the city and is home to much of the city's industry, including the Granite City Steel Works. Downtown Granite suffered a downturn in the 1970s, which vacated much of its commercial buildings and in turn,

urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

began. More recently, there have been revitalization efforts to revive the downtown area, although they are still in their early stages. These efforts are modeled on nearby cities such as

Belleville, IL Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is a southeastern suburb of St. Louis. The population was 42,404 at the 2020 census, making it the most populated city in the Metro East region of Greater ...

, Edwardsville, IL, and

St. Charles, MO Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 70,493 at the 2020 census, making St. Charles the ninth-most populous city in Missouri. Situa ...

. Revitalization efforts include installing tree-filled medians on Niedringhaus Avenue, adding recreational businesses such as the three-screen ''Granite City Theater'', repaving streets, granting tax incentives, and adding new zoning restrictions. The original design of what is currently downtown Granite City is based on the City of Washington D.C. West Granite is located west of downtown across the railroad lines. West Granite contains both industrial and lower income residential areas and has been struggling to fight its above average crime rate. While Wilson Park may be the Heart of Granite City, West Granite is the History. Attracted by the promise of plentiful jobs, many immigrants from Central-Eastern Europe, primarily Bulgaria, Ottoman Macedonia and Hungary, migrated to the City in search of good jobs with decent wages. The vast majority of these immigrants settled into housing to the west of the downtown area in a place that would come to be known as 'Hungary Hollow.' By 1916 the multi-national residents of Hungary Hollow applied for and were granted an official name change to Lincoln Place.

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 2010, there were 29,849 people, 12,214 households, and 7,791 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 1,547.5 people per square mile (597.5/km). There were 13,578 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.5%

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 ...

, 6.5% Black or

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 ...

, 1.0% American Indian or Alaska Native ( Native American), 0.8% Asian, 0.1%

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 ...

, 2.3% from other races, and 2.1% 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 5.0% of the population. There were 12,214 households, out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% 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, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of householders living alone, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3. In the city the population age range was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 15 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 15% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. The median income for a household in the city in 2014 was $43,759, and the median income for a family was $57,596. Males over age 16 had a median income of $46,390 versus $36,989 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 city was $22,397. About 14.8% of families and 18.3% 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 27.7% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Recreation

The Granite City Park District owns 13 parks. Wilson Park is the most notable. A paved trail encircles the park which contains a pool, ice rink, park office, skate park, food and beverage stand, tennis courts, several pavilions, baseball fields, and a wedding area. The Park District offers baseball, flag football, tennis, soccer, basketball, and hockey programs for the youth. Every summer around July 4, Wilson Park hosts the Patriots in the Park program. The program includes live entertainment, carriage rides, carnival rides, food & beverage stands, and the second largest fireworks display in the St. Louis area. Madison County Transit provides an outstanding network of newly paved, well maintained bikeways throughout the county as well as Granite City. The new

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, part of the River's Edge Development was recently completed. The complex includes aquatics programs, a youth center, weightlifting, batting cages, basketball/tennis courts, and a child care center. There are also two golf courses near Granite City. The Legacy Golf Course and the Arlington Golf Course both offer eighteen hole championship courses. Horseshoe Lake State Park wraps around Horseshoe Lake, a natural lake, the largest lake in the St. Louis area. The park provides a place for picnicking, cycling, fishing, wildlife viewing, and small boating. Hunting is allowed during hunting season and a small primitive campground is located on Walker's Island. There are 2 roller skating rinks in the area and Confluence Crush Roller Derby practices in the adjacent village of

Pontoon Beach Pontoon Beach is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,876 at the 2020 census. It is part of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Geography Pontoon Beach is located in southwestern Madison County northeast of St ...

Transportation

Railroad service

The Port Harbor Railroad (reporting marks: PHRR) provides railroad service to industrial businesses located at America's Central Port in Granite City. The PHRR connects with the

at "WR Tower," a major railroad junction located at the intersection of Niedringhaus Avenue and 16th Street. The railway carries everything from steel and aluminum products to foods, lumber, paper, chemicals, minerals, grains and other products.

Education

Granite City Community Unit School District 9 Granite City Community Unit School District 9 is a school district based in Granite City, Illinois, Granite City, Illinois, and it has currently 9 schools. The superintendent of the school district is Mr. James J. Greenwald. The Board of Educat ...

enrolls 7100 students from the city and its surrounding area. The district operates five elementary schools (Frohardt, Mitchell, Wilson, Prather, and Maryville) One intermediate school (Grigsby) One Junior High (Coolidge) and one high school (Granite City High School (GCHS)). Recently, the high school underwent a 14 million dollar renovation. The district is notable for its wide array of sports, clubs, and technical programs. Recently, the track, baseball field, and high school gymnasium were renovated. The high school has achieved a 96.3% graduation rate, nearly 10% higher than the state average. Granite City High School was the 1940 State champions in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. Granite City High has won ten boys' soccer state championships in 1972, 1976–1980, 1982, 1987, 1989, and 1990, and the girls' soccer team won the 2011 state championship. In addition, the Warrior wrestling team were co-champions in 1965 and currently have more dual meet victories than any other high school in the country. The baseball team were runners-up in 1963. Two private Catholic K-8 schools, Holy Family and St. Elizabeth, are also located in the city. There is also a private PK - 12 school in Granite City called Rivers of Life Christian School. Alternative schools include the Coordinated Youth on Madison Avenue next to the Gateway Regional Medical Center and attached to the same building as the WIC Service. Another Coordinated Youth location is on W 3rd St near the old army depot. The Sam Wolf Granite City Campus (SWGCC) of

Southwestern Illinois College Southwestern Illinois College is a public community college in Illinois with campuses in Belleville, Granite City, and Red Bud. It also has off-campus sites throughout the district, including Scott Air Force Base and the East St. Louis Comm ...

is located at the northern end of the city.

Notable people

* George Becker, American labor leader and president of the United Steelworkers * John Bischoff, Major League Baseball catcher for

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

* Harry Boyles, Major League Baseball pitcher for Chicago White Sox * Glenn Bradford, Illinois politician and lawyer *

Bonnie Bramlett Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, November 8, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress known for performing with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie. She continues to sing as a solo artist. Life and career ...

, musician/singer * John van Buskirk, soccer player and coach *

Robert Olen Butler Robert Olen Butler (born January 20, 1945) is an American fiction writer. His short-story collection '' A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain'' was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1993. Early life Butler was born in Granite City, Illin ...

, Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction writer * Julie Curry, politician *

Lucian W. Dressel Lucian W. Dressel is an American winemaker and viticulturist. Dressel wrote the application to have Augusta, Missouri, designated as America's first officially recognized wine district by the federal government. Augusta and Mt. Pleasant After ...

, an American winemaker who wrote the application to have Augusta, Missouri, designated as America's first wine district *

L. J. Fort Larry Fort Jr. (born January 3, 1990) is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football at Northern Iowa and was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Fort was also a member of the D ...

, linebacker for NFL's

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

and

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

Owen Friend Owen Lacey Friend (March 21, 1927 – October 14, 2007) was a Major League Baseball second baseman for five different teams between 1949 and 1956. Listed at 6'1, 180 lb., Friend batted and threw right-handed. Nicknamed "Red", he was born in ...

, former Major League Baseball second baseman for

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, Boston Red Sox and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Andrew Goodpaster Andrew Jackson Goodpaster (12 February 1915 – 16 May 2005) was an American Army General. He served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), from 1 July 1969, and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command (CINCEUR) fr ...

, former Supreme Allied Commander of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and Four Star U.S. Army General *

Kevin Greene Kevin Darwin Greene (July 31, 1962December 21, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player who was a linebacker and defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49e ...

, former National Football League linebacker *

Orville Hodge Orville Enoch Hodge (October 1, 1904 – December 29, 1986) was the Auditor of Public Accounts (predecessor to the Office of Illinois Comptroller, Comptroller) of the state of Illinois from 1952 to 1956. During his term in office, he embezzle ...

, politician * James D. Holloway, Illinois state representative * Matt Hughes, former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

welterweight champion * Charlie Jackson, Major League Baseball outfielder for Chicago White Sox and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Robbie Lawler Robert Glenn Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed between 2001 and 2023. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in ...

, former

Elite XC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States–based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decem ...

middleweight champion *

Carl Linhart Carl James Linhart (born Karol Linhart, December 14, 1929 – January 4, 2022) was a professional baseball player who appeared in three Major League games played as a pinch hitter and pinch runner for the Detroit Tigers during the 1952 season ...

, baseball player *

Dal Maxvill Charles Dallan Maxvill (born February 18, 1939) is an American former shortstop, coach, and general manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his career, Maxvill played, coached, or was an executive for four World Series winners and seven ...

, former MLB shortstop, Gold Glove winner, and

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

general manager * Ruben Mendoza, soccer player, two-time US Olympian, two-time US World Cup Team member *

Andy Phillip Andrew Michael "Handy Andy" Phillip (March 7, 1922 – April 29, 2001) was an American professional basketball player.

, basketball Hall of Fame *

Murphy Lee Torhi Harper (born December 18, 1978) better known by his stage name Murphy Lee, is an American rapper who is best known as a member of the St. Louis, Missouri-based hip hop group, St. Lunatics. Following the commercial success of its lead mem ...

, rapper * Jason Robertson, AIDS activist whose family was forced to move out of town due to local harassment and bullying *

Kenneth Shaw Kenneth Alan "Buzz" Shaw (born January 31, 1939) is an American academic and university executive who served as the 10th Chancellor and President of Syracuse University, 4th President of the University of Wisconsin System, and 2nd President of the S ...

, educator * Ralph T. Smith, former Senator *

Anna Stonum Anna Marie Stonum (October 14, 1958 – February 6, 1999) was an American artist and Disability rights movement, disability rights activist based in Chicago. Early life and education Stonum was from Granite City, Illinois, the daughter of Rob ...

, graphic designer and disability rights activist * Stephen Trittschuh, Major League Soccer (MISL, APSL, MLS) defender, member of the US Men's National Soccer Team * Anna M. Valencia, Chicago City Clerk *

Whip Wilson Whip Wilson (born Roland Charles Meyers, June 16, 1911 – October 22, 1964) was an American cowboy film actor, film star of the late 1940s and into the 1950s, known for his roles in B movies (Hollywood Golden Age)#Cowboys and dogs, B-Westerns. ...

, actor in Western films

References

External links

City of Granite
{{authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in Madison County, Illinois Company towns in Illinois Illinois populated places on the Mississippi River Populated places established in 1896 1896 establishments in Illinois Sundown towns in Illinois