Alton

Frenchman Jean Baptiste Cardinal was the first European to settle the Alton region in 1783. Later Rufus Easton plotted the town in 1817, and in honor of his son, Alton R. Easton, he named the town Alton.((History of Madison County, Illinois, Illustrated. With Biographical Sketches of many Prominent Men and Pioneers (Edwardsville: W. R. Brink and Company, 1882), 374 – 5.)) Alton was incorporated as a town on February 6, 1833.((Ibid., 389.)) In 1840 the population of Alton reached 2,340 inhabitants.((1840 Census: Sixth Census or Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the United States (Washington: Blair and Rives, 1841), 386 – 7.)) As of the 2010 census, Alton city has a population of 27,865.((Illinois: 2010, Summary Population and Housing Characteristics, 2010 Census of Population and Housing (Washington: Bureau of the Census, 2012), 62.))

To access the city of Alton’s website, follow this link.

For more, see these Oral Histories

• William (Bill) Haine Oral History Interview
• Dave Knoche Oral History Interview
• Wendell and Barb McAfoos Oral History Interview
• Mike McNamara Oral History
• Sam Stemm Oral History Interview

Alton Articles (11 Total)

	The 1918 Influenza Pandemic in Alton June 3, 2020 by Maddie Halstead
	Abraham Lincoln’s Visits to Madison County April 23, 2018 by Stephen Hansen
	Alton Community Unit School District #11 February 14, 2017 by Lesley Thomson
	Alton School District Integration March 5, 2018 by Lesley Thomson
	Bethalto Community Unit School District #8 February 14, 2017 by Lesley Thomson
	Charles Gravius Memorial Library November 17, 2016 by Jessica Mills
	East Alton / Wood River School District #14 February 14, 2017 by Lesley Thomson

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Alton Archive Items

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