Steamboats
In the early 1800's the rivers were the main means of transportation. When steamboats replaced the keel boats and barges, a great advance was given to business.
Steamboat trade began in 1818. Colonel James Johnson
was one of the first to ship supplies from Alton to the Missouri Territory. By 1834, a steamer named "Tiskilwa" began to make regular trips between Alton and St. Louis. The years 1840 to 1860 were the golden age
of steamboating on the mighty Mississippi. 
Joseph Brown was one of the most successful steamboat captains on the river in the early days. He ran a mill in Alton and shipped flour to New Orleans. One of his boats was the "Little Eagle."
She was only ninety feet long and could make the trip from St. Louis to Alton in seven hours.
Competition between the boat lines brought about the beginning of racing by the
captains. The first boat to come into port was given first chance to unload and to be the first to get away to pick up freight at the next stop. This made it necessary to build faster boats.
Houses were built with lookouts on top making it possible for the people to watch the racing steamers coming into dock. The boats were loaded with freight and crowded
with passengers who felt lucky to be aboard during the race.
The townspeople came to the riverfront and cheered as the speeding boats entered the
Alton port. The prize was a set of gold covered antlers, which were placed in the pilot house until some other boat defeated the champion.
The boat racing continued until a tragic accident happened. On February 16, 1854, the steamer "Kate Kearney" blew up as she was pulling away from the crowded wharf at St
. Louis. Fifty people were killed and twenty-five were badly injured. Some of the passengers and crew were blown into the river and lost. Newspaper criticism of the
races and government action brought an end to the reckless races on the Mississippi.
The steamboat era gave way to the railroad in later years.
Early Railroads
transcribed by Ben Yungck
The first railroad in Illinois was a coal mine road. It was built by Governor John Reynolds in 1837, and ran from East St. Louis to the bluffs near the line of Madison and St. Clair counties.
The first railroad built in Madison County was the Chicago and Alton, then known as the Alton and Sangamon. This railroad was built under the leadership of Captain
Benjamin Godfrey. He lived in a railroad car and followed the work as it progressed. The railroad to Springfield was finished in 1852. 
The second railroad built was the Terre Haute and Alton. Captain Simeon Ryder of Alton was the president of the railroad. It connected Alton
to East St. Louis. A plug train ran from East Alton to Alton.
The Alton and St. Louis railroad was built in 1864, by John Mitchell, of Alton, under
agreement with Chicago and Alton Railroad Company. The Upper Alton part of this railroad was built in 1881.
The rails for these first railroads came from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The railroad ties
were made from local timber. The early engines used wood for fuel. The farmers of the area piled wood along the tracks for use by the companies.
Some of the early German farmers who came to the Brighton area, ten miles northeast of Alton, provided wood for the railroad companies. When the railroad companies
failed to pay the farmers for this wood, the farmers piled the wood right on the tracks. The railroads and farmers took their disagreement to court. The case was held in
Springfield. Abraham Lincoln was the lawyer for the farmers. Lincoln argued that the farmers should be paid for their wood, and he won. The farmers took up a collection to pay his fee, but he refused to take any money.
Alton Penitentiary
transcribed by Ashley Wiseman
Only a very small part of the walls of the Alton Penitentiary is left in what at one time was Uncle Remus Park.
The state sold land to raise money to pay for the building. It was begun in the early
1830's. By 1857, the penitentiary had 256 cells. The prisoners were hired out to people for use as laborers. This business made money for the state.
In 1857, a new prison was built at Joliet. By 1860, all the prisoners in Alton were moved there.
During the Civil War, the Governor of Illinois gave permission to use the penitentiary for
prisoners of war. As many as 2000 Southern prisoners were kept there at one time. It was over-crowded with injured and sick soldiers. They could not be cared for properly.
During the last year of the Civil War, smallpox broke out in the prison and many of the prisoners died. Some were buried in the cemetery off State Street on Rozier Street.
Most of the bodies were taken to Sun Flower Island and buried. The island was located in the Mississippi River a little beyond the present island named Piasa Island. Sun
Flower Island was covered by water when Locks and Dam Number 26 were built.
The river channel separates Scotch Jimmie's Island and Illini Island from the Illinois
shore. Boats used this channel. They stopped at Piasa Landing on the Illinois shore.
In 1865, two prisoners tried to escape by going through the prison sewer and crawling to the Mississippi River. They were caught as they came out of the sewer. They were taken back to
the prison, tried, found guilty, and killed by a firing squad.
Records show that three women were held in the penitentiary. The first woman to enter the penitentiary was Mrs. C!ara Judd of Nashville
, Tennessee. She was in the prison several months. She was then released to relatives in Minnesota. The other two women prisoners died in prison.
Early Hotels
transcribed by Ashley Wiseman
The best known of the early Alton hotels was the Alton House. Built in 1832, it stood at the corner of Front and Alby Streets. Stephen A. Douglas used this hotel as his headquarters during the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
The Franklin Hotel at 208 State Street was Abraham Lincoln's stopping place. It has since been used as a television repair shop and a fast food restaurant.
The Piasa House was located on the corner of Fourth and Piasa Streets near the river landings. Many of the river boat passengers stayed there.
The Mansion Hotel on State Street hill was another of the early hotels. It was built in 1834 and has been used as both a rooming house and an apartment house.
Montgomery Home
William Montgomery was born, December 21, 1786 in Kentucky. He came to St. Louis, where he married Sarah Ratten. They settled in Fort Russell in 1814. Three years later they moved to Wood River.
They built their home. It took them over two and a half years. The bricks for the two-story home were made about a block and a half south of the home site. Around 1953,
the second story was removed. There were five fireplaces in the house, two of which were in the master living room.
The walnut supports under the house had been hand cut with an axe. They were so well
cut they look as if they were planed.
The Montgomerys raised 12 children. William Montgomery became a wealthy landholder, owning over 2,000 acres at his death. His large family became one of the
most distinguished in the county.
Mr. & Mrs. Montgomery died in 1849. They were buried in the Montgomery Cemetery on their farm south of the home.
Abraham Lincoln stayed in this home many times since it was used as a halfway house between Springfield and St. Louis, Missouri.
This was one of the first brick houses in Illinois. It was bought by Walston Aviation Inc.
Early Churches of the AIton Area
First Church in Alton Area
The first church in the Alton area was started at the Moore cabin in the fork of the Wood River, in 1807, by Reverend David Badgley and Reverend William Jones. This
church served a large area before there was an Alton or an Upper Alton. People came from as far away as 20 miles on horseback to attend the Saturday church meeting.
In 1809, under the leadership of Reverend William Jones, the congregation built a log cabin meeting house on Vaughn's Hill. The church had puncheon (split log) seats and a
dirt floor. In 1816, an acre and a half of land was added to the church grounds as a campsite. The Issac Cox family of Bethalto would take a two weeks vacation each year
as would many other families of the area. They would turn out their livestock to graze freely. They would load their clothing and supplies in a wagon. They would travel to the
campsite, a part of the Vaughn Cemetery. At the end of the week, Mr. Cox would return home for more supplies and check to see that all was going well. He would then
rejoin the group. The cemetery dates back to before 1805. The victims of the Wood River Massacre were buried here. It is now known as Vaughn Cemetery.
Reverend William Jones took an active part in the community life of this area. During the war of 1812, he joined a company of Rangers. He was elected to the Territorial
Legislature twice. He and his wife are buried in the Vaughn Cemetery.
A History of Alton Table of Contents
A History of Alton page 5
Where We Live: Alton
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