Madison County History
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TORNADO
STRIKES ALTON
On June 02, 1860, a tornado struck downtown and mid-town Alton,
destroying many buildings in its path. Amazingly, no lives
were lost. To read the article on the storm,
please click here.
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MADISON COUNTY ESTABLISHED
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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