Great River Road, 2016

East Alton

December 15, 2017

Last modified: April 13, 2020

East Alton was incorporated as a village on September 4, 1893 as a railway junction and industrial center.1 The town was platted in 1858 by George W. Carr and George A. Smith. Previously the area was also referred to as Milton, Emerald, Wann or Wanda Station, and Alton Junction.2 By 1900, East Alton had a population of 454 people.3 As of the 2010 census, the village of East Alton has a population of 6,301.4

East Alton in 2017
From the Maps & Plats GIS Division of the Madison County Chief County Assessment Office

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

For more, see these Oral Histories

Endnotes   [ + ]

1. Thanks to East Alton Village Clerk Lori Palmer for clarification regarding the incorporation date of East Alton.
2. History of Madison County, Illinois, Illustrated. With Biographical Sketches of many Prominent Men and Pioneers (Edwardsville: W. R. Brink and Company, 1882), 420 – 421.
3. Census Reports Volume I: Population Part I (Washington: United States Census Office, 1901), 126.
4. Illinois: 2010, Summary Population and Housing Characteristics, 2010 Census of Population and Housing (Washington: Bureau of the Census, 2012), 64.
Cite this article: Nichol Allen and Ben Ostermeier, "East Alton," Madison Historical: The Online Encyclopedia and Digital Archive for Madison County, Illinois, last modified April 13, 2020, https://madison-historical.siue.edu/encyclopedia/east-alton/.
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