History of North Alton, Illinois
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
Party in Godfrey Township and party in
Alton Township, the village of North Alton was comprised of four
different settlements: Altonia, Buck Inn, Greenwood, and Coal
Branch. Altonia encompassed the entire area of what is now known
as North Alton, while Buck Inn (named after the Buck Inn and
tavern, located at the northwest corner of State & Delmar)
encompassed the area north of Delmar. Greenwood encompassed a
small area south of Delmar. Before settlers arrived, the area
was mostly woods and prairie, with a good vein of coal running
through.
ALTONIA
On June 1, 1839, a sale of lots in the “new town of
Altonia” was announced by agents Willard & Carpenter, W. S.
Lincoln, and C. L. Frost. The sale was to be held at the Buck
Inn, “on the road to Monticello” (Godfrey). The town was laid
out on the highland, north and south of the Upper Alton –
Grafton Road (Delmar), and east and west of the State road
(State Street) leading from Alton to Jacksonville. In addition,
the area had an abundance of coal, stone, and a good river
landing within three quarters of a mile. There was also a road
leading to the Monticello Ladies Seminary (in Godfrey).
Why the town of Altonia failed to develop is a mystery. Very
likely the sale of lots was a failure. The 1837 depression was
nearing its peak, and that may have played a factor. Had the
sale been a success, history would show there would have been
three Altons – Lower Alton, Upper Alton, and Altonia.
BUCK INN
The Buck Inn and tavern was constructed in 1837 by James Strong,
a native of Cumberland, England. The inn was a large frame
building, over the doorway of which the antlers of a buck were
suspended (hence the name Buck Inn). This building stood on the
south line of Godfrey Township in a heavily wooded area, at the
northwest corner of Delmar Avenue and State Street. Buck Inn was
at a crossroad of growing importance, and soon began to thrive.
The original Buck Inn was destroyed by fire in 1855, and
soon a brick structure was erected. James Strong died in 1869,
and his son, Jacob Strong, carried on a store at this point.
In 1868 a post office was established in Buck Inn in the
home of Captain P. J. Melling. William Hall, two years later was
appointed postmaster, and the office was moved to Greenwood,
although the post office was still called Buck Inn up to the
time of the incorporation of North Alton.
Adolphus Denz
built a steam mill at Buck Inn in 1860. The machinery from the
mill was transferred in 1882 to a new mill erected just north of
North Alton. There was also a blacksmith shop, wagon shop, and
marble cutting shop.
GREENWOOD
The town of Greenwood, in Alton Township, just south of Buck
Inn, was surveyed into lots by James Clayton Tibbett. Why he
named the town Greenwood is unknown. The town plat was recorded
in February 1853. His plat took in an area extending about a
block south of what is now Delmar Avenue, and extended east to
Tibbitt Street, and west to Kirsch. The name of Greenwood did
not catch on with the community, and most referred to it as Buck
Inn.
The Greenwood Hotel was located on State Street
near School Lane (Mather Street). It was later used by the Kolb
family as their home. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1901.
The Kolb family removed the ruins, cleaned out the cellar, and
fixed the remaining foundation walls. A new brick building
consisting of two four-room flats was erected in its place.
An athletic club called the Greenwood Athletics existed in
1908. They had their own clubroom, which was used for
entertaining. Members of the club included Ollie Meyer, Paul
Weissenfluh, C. Cain, Ed Zaugg, Arthur Hibbard. They enjoyed
boxing, sparring, and wrestling.
NORTH ALTON
In
December 1875, the original plat of Greenwood, Buck Inn, and
Coal Branch were incorporated and given the name of North Alton.
In 1908 the village was annexed to the city of Alton. The North
Alton City Hall was located near where Gent Funeral Home’s
parking lot is. There was a large fountain on the tip of the
triangle where State and Belle Streets meet. This would have
been in front of the Town Hall. Men would often use the fountain
to water their horses.
The North Alton firehouse, located
at 2411 State Street, was constructed in 1911. It was last used
as a firehouse in 1990. The land is now part of the Gent Funeral
Home parking lot.
Early North Alton Businesses
By 1882
there were two general stores in North Alton, kept by H. A. Betz
& Co., and Charles Henderson. Anthony Buri and Kohler & Walter
were proprietors of grocery stores. John Redmond and William P.
Kolb were dealers in harness and saddles. George F. Barth was
the druggist, and there were two millinery stores, one butcher,
and one shoemaker shop. There were also two blacksmith shops,
one livery stable, and seven saloons.
A custom mill stood
at State and Rozier Streets, and was still standing in 1916,
although it was bad shape and no longer used. F. G. Glassbrenner
owned a livery and stable in the late 1800s on the west side of
State Street, just north of Mather.
The North Alton Beer
Gardens, which included a saloon and dance hall, was located at
the southeast corner of Belle and Rozier Streets, going down
Belle as far as Hawthorne Street. At one time it was owned by a
man named Overath, who had a partner named Gerner. The Women’s
Christian Temperance Union sets their eyes on the beer gardens,
and tried to shut them down. In 1894, after being tormented by
an arson who tried to burn him out, Overath sold out and moved
to a farm on the Piasa. He hoped to find peace, but the arsonist
followed him and burned down the farm house and barn. The family
escaped, but everything in the home was destroyed. In 1913 the
beer gardens were owned by Anthony Reck, who owned a brewery in
Alton. In about 1911 a German Saengerfest was held there, with
thousands attending – arriving by streetcar, the railroad,
steamboats, interurban cars, and wagons. A chorus of 700 voices
sang the greeting song, “Gott gruesse dich.” The Overath home
was later renovated and converted into the Gent Funeral Home.
The Michael Walter Grocery and Fruit Distillery was
located in the 2500 block of State Street, between St. Peters
And Wardein Pharmacy. It was established in the late 1800s. His
son, William, ran the store after his father’s death. The
building was razed in 1962.
The Culps Motor Lodge opened
in North Alton in 1929. It was located at 603 West Delmar. The
business offered overnight lodging, 24-hour automobile service,
and a fine dining room. The business changed hands in 1931, and
became the Dixcel Motor Lodge, with J. F. Green as owner. In
1941 the Hurst Potato Chip Factory moved into the building, and
by 1943 the building was up for sale. In later years, the Varble
TV shop, a wig shop, the VFW Hall, and insurance offices were
located there. The building still stands, although it has been
remodeled.
CEMETERIES OF NORTH ALTON
Greenwood –
St. Patrick’s Cemetery
Just north of Delmar Avenue on Homer
Adams Parkway, is the Greenwood Cemetery (now called St.
Patrick’s Cemetery). It was established before 1861. In 1960, a
storm damaged the cemetery, knocking over many tombstones and
trees.
The
Confederate Cemetery
The Confederate Cemetery, established
during the Civil War, is located in North Alton on Rozier
Street. The two acres of ground contain the remains of soldiers
who died while imprisoned in the military prison in Alton. Some
of the undertakers who had a contract for providing coffins and
burying the dead were James Althoff, H. W. Hart, and John
Hoffman. Several years after the Civil War, the government
contracted with Captain Tallon of St. Louis to erect tombstones
over the Confederate graves. This was done under the
superintendence of Captain P. J. Melling of North Alton.
Throughout the years the fence around the cemetery rotted away,
the tombstones fell down and were scattered, cattle roamed over
the cemetery and it was entirely neglected. In the early 1900s,
the cemetery was improved and a fence erected. H. J. Bowman took
great interest in the preservation of the cemetery, and
organized the planting of trees and caring for the property. The
Daughters of the Confederacy sent flowers to decorate the
gravesites of the fallen. In 1909 a monument was erected on the
property, in memory of those buried there.
Early North Alton Schools
A two-story, two-room, brick schoolhouse was constructed at
Greenwood in 1871. The architect of the schoolhouse was Ralph
Dixon. The school directors were John Rutledge, James Mitchell,
and B. Scheiss. This school went by several names – Buck Inn,
Greenwood, and North Alton school. It was located on West Mather
Street (on the west side of State Street). Mather Street was
then known as School Lane. This school provided early education
for local students until 1909. It sat vacant for a while, and
then in 1915 it was re-opened for “colored” students. The name
of the school was changed to the (Phillis) Wheatley School,
after the first published female African-American poet. The
building was remodeled in 1928. This school closed in about 1943
and was sold by the school district in 1946 for $5,150. The
building still exists and is now used for apartments.
A
Presbyterian Mission School was founded by O. S. Stowell and
others in North Alton sometime before 1903. It was known as the
Elm Street Schoolhouse. Stowell was the president of the Alton
Savings Bank, and took great interest in the religious work of
the First Presbyterian Church. He headed the church Sunday
school for 32 years. The old brick schoolhouse was torn down in
1913, after McKinley School was constructed.
Delmar
School, at the northeast corner of W. Delmar Avenue and Shordell
Drive in North Alton, was constructed in 1913. The building
still stands but is now used as a residential duplex.
After the annexation in 1907 of North Alton to Alton, the Alton
school board took up the matter of building and new school, and
erected McKinley School on Elm Street, at a cost of $18,000.00.
It was constructed on an old coal mine, and was named after
President William McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901.
McKinley was a two-story, seven room brick structure. McKinley
was occupied for the first time in September 1908. The building
still stands and is used as the Alton Day Care & Learning
Center.
Early North Alton Churches
In 1870, Trinity Chapel, a
branch of the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Alton, was
constructed in North Alton at a cost of $2,000. It included a
rectory adjoining the house of worship.
An Episcopal
mission was carried on under the care of St. Paul’s Protestant
Episcopal Church of Alton.
Early Organizations of North
Alton
In 1882, the North Alton Reformed Club, a prosperous
temperance organization, which was established in 1877, owned a
Temperance Hall, which was used for their meetings.
Greenwood Lodge, No. 421, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was
instituted in 1870, with John Rutledge, William Benson, William
R. Jones, Thomas Hall, Robert Crawford, Jacob Strong, and George
Moulding as charter members.