Discover History All Around Alton

Rich in heritage and haunted by history, Alton stands at the confluence of the Mississippi, Illinois, and Missouri rivers as one of America's great river towns. In its heyday it was the biggest city in southern Illinois, and its steep-sloped streets, filled with silos, railroad tracks, brick commercial buildings, and stately Victorian mansions, bustled with people and energy. Alton also played a pivotal role in the Civil War, where abolitionist editor Elijah P. Lovejoy became the first casualty of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas debated slavery, Confederate prisoners were held, died, and buried, and Lyman Trumbull co-authored the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery.

Alton, Illinois · United States