Alton
October 27, 2017
Last modified: April 13, 2020
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.1 Alton was incorporated as a town on February 6, 1833.3 In 1840 the population of Alton reached 2,340 inhabitants.2 As of the 2010 census, Alton city has a population of 27,865.4
Alton in 2017
From the Maps & Plats GIS Division of the Madison County Chief County Assessment Office
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
Endnotes
| 1. | arrow_upward | History of Madison County, Illinois, Illustrated. With Biographical Sketches of many Prominent Men and Pioneers (Edwardsville: W. R. Brink and Company, 1882), 374 – 5. |
| 2. | arrow_upward | 1840 Census: Sixth Census or Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the United States (Washington: Blair and Rives, 1841), 386 – 7. |
| 3. | arrow_upward | Ibid., 389. |
| 4. | arrow_upward | Illinois: 2010, Summary Population and Housing Characteristics, 2010 Census of Population and Housing (Washington: Bureau of the Census, 2012), 62. |
Alton Articles (11 Total)
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic in AltonJune 3, 2020 by Maddie Halstead |
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Abraham Lincoln’s Visits to Madison CountyApril 23, 2018 by Stephen Hansen |
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Alton Community Unit School District #11February 14, 2017 by Lesley Thomson |
Alton School District IntegrationMarch 5, 2018 by Lesley Thomson |
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Bethalto Community Unit School District #8February 14, 2017 by Lesley Thomson |
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Charles Gravius Memorial LibraryNovember 17, 2016 by Jessica Mills |
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East Alton / Wood River School District #14February 14, 2017 by Lesley Thomson |
Cite this article: Nichol Allen, "Alton," Madison Historical: The Online Encyclopedia and Digital Archive for Madison County, Illinois, last modified April 13, 2020, https://madison-historical.siue.edu/encyclopedia/alton/.
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