Madison County History
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Monticello Female Seminary (later renamed Monticello Ladies Seminary) first opened on April 11, 1838, with 57 students. Captain Benjamin Godfrey, a former sea captain and merchant, believed in the Christian education of young women, and conceived the idea of founding a seminary. In 1836, he gave of his own money $50,000 towards the founding of the seminary, and donated twenty acres of land on which to build it. The seminary was located north of Monticello (later renamed Godfrey), on the stage route from Alton to Springfield. The seminary was destroyed by fire in November 1888, and rebuilt. The seminary was enlarged throughout the years, and still stands today as Lewis & Clark Community College. Read more on the history of this historic school.
HISTORY OF THE ALTON STATE HOSPITAL
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On
September 14, 1812, Madison County was established in the Illinois
Territory out of Randolph and St. Clair Counties, by proclamation of
the Governor of Illinois Territory, Ninian Edwards. It was named for
U. S. President James Madison, a friend of Edwards, and had a
population of 9,099 people. At the time of its formation, Madison
County included all of the modern State of Illinois north of St.
Louis, as well as all of Wisconsin, part of Minnesota, and
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
A meeting was held on April 5, 1813 at the home of Thomas
Kirkpatrick in Edwardsville, where appointed commissioners were to
report on their selection of a county seat. A meeting was held on
January 14, 1814, where the court ordered the sheriff to notify the
commissioners appointed by law to fix the place for the public
buildings (courthouse and jail) for Madison County. The county seat
was established in the town of Edwardsville, with the first public
building – the jail – being erected in 1814. The first county
courthouse was erected in Edwardsville in 1817.
During the period 1819 to 1849, Madison County was reduced in area
to its present size, about 760 square miles. All of the public lands
had become the property of individuals and had been converted into
thousands of productive farms. New towns and villages were
established, such as Collinsville, Highland, Marine, Venice,
Monticello [Godfrey], Troy, and Alton.
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QUICK LINKS
Confederate Cemetery (North Alton)
Western Military Academy (Upper Alton)
Shurtleff College (Upper Alton)
Monticello Ladies Seminary (Godfrey)
Illinois State Penitentiary in Alton (1833-1860)
Federal Military Prison at Alton (1861-1865)
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