Edwardsville is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Illinois, and is a suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,808. The city was named in honor of

Ninian Edwards Ninian Edwards (March 17, 1775July 20, 1833) was a founding political figure of the State of Illinois. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to until the territory was dissolved in 1818. He was then one of t ...

, then Governor of the Illinois Territory. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the Edwardsville Arts Center, the ''Edwardsville Journal'', the ''

Madison County Record ''The Madison / St. Clair Record'', also called ''The Record'' and formerly called ''The Madison Record'', is a weekly legal journal covering the Madison and St. Clair County Civil Courts in the state of Illinois As of 2011, it is located at 301 ...

'', and the ''

Edwardsville Intelligencer The ''Edwardsville Intelligencer'' is an American daily newspaper in Illinois based in Edwardsville. The paper is circulated in Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, and nearby rural areas. The newspaper was founded in 1862. In 1960, longtime owner and ...

'' are based here.

Edwardsville High School Edwardsville Senior High School is a public high school located in Edwardsville, Illinois. History Edwardsville High School was first located on North Kansas Street in downtown Edwardsville. Due to the expansion of the town, a new high school w ...

and Metro-East Lutheran High School serve students in the area. Edwardsville also serves as the headquarters for Prairie Farms Dairy one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the United States and ranked in the top 10 of the largest privately held companies in the St. Louis region. Edwardsville is a part of

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...

and the

Metro East Metro East is a region in southern Illinois that contains eastern and northern suburbs and exurbs of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It encompasses five Southern Illinois counties (and parts of three others) in the St. Louis Metropolitan Stati ...

region within

Greater St. Louis Greater St. Louis is a bi-state metropolitan area that completely surrounds and includes the independent city of St. Louis, the principal city. It includes parts of both Missouri and Illinois. The city core is on the Mississippi Riverfront on t ...

, located northeast of downtown St. Louis. It is part of the Edwardsville School District, which also includes the villages of Glen Carbon, Hamel and Moro, as well as the

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

areas around them.

History

Edwardsville was incorporated in 1818. The first European-American settler was Thomas Kirkpatrick, who came in 1805, laid out a community, and served as the Justice of the Peace. He named the community after his friend

, then territorial governor of Illinois. (Illinois did not become a state until 1818.) The

Edwards Trace The Edwards Trace was an overland trail that served the frontier region that became Central Illinois. The trail is usually described as extending from Cahokia in the south, to Peoria in the north. During the 1810s and 1820s the trace played a de ...

, a key trail in the settlement of

Central Illinois Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agr ...

, used Edwardsville as a northward launching point. In 1868

The Bank of Edwardsville The Bank of Edwardsville is a traditional American bank founded in 1868 and located in Edwardsville, Illinois. It was acquired by First Busey Corporation, the holding company of Busey Bank, in early 2019. The clients' deposits are insured by FDI ...

was founded. It was purchased by Champaign, Illinois-based

Busey Bank First Busey Bank is a bank based in Illinois, United States owned by financial holding company First Busey Holding with its headquarters in Champaign, Illinois. It has operations in Illinois, Indiana and southwest Florida The bank offers a f ...

in 2019. In 1890, St. Louis industrialist N.O. Nelson chose a tract of land just south of Edwardsville to build plumbing factories. He also built a model workers' cooperative village called Leclaire. He offered workers fair wages with reasonable working hours and a share of the profits. He named the village in honor of the French economist

Edme-Jean Leclaire Edme-Jean Leclaire (14 May 1801 – 13 July 1872) was a French economist and businessman. He developed an early system of employee profit-sharing. Leclaire was born the son of a poor village shoemaker, in Aisy-sur-Armançon, a small village i ...

. The village also provided educational and recreational opportunities and made it financially possible for anyone to own a home. Unlike company towns such as Pullman near Chicago, the welfare and quality of life for the workers and their families was a major concern. In 1934, the Village of Leclaire was incorporated into the City of Edwardsville. The area has a lake and park, baseball field, and the Edwardsville Children's Museum in the former Rudolph D. Specht memorial schoolhouse. Several Nelson factory buildings were renovated and adapted for use as the historic N. O. Nelson Campus of

Lewis and Clark Community College Lewis and Clark Community College is a public community college in Godfrey, Illinois. It serves approximately 15,000 credit and non-credit students annually. The college has nine locations throughout the St. Louis Metro East, including a campu ...

. The recognized Historic District has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Each year on the third Sunday in October, the Friends of Leclaire host the annual Leclaire Parkfest with food, live heritage music, historic displays & tours, artisans, children's activities, a book sale, and more. In 1983, Edwardsville's historic Saint Louis Street was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Dating back to 1809, this Historic District has a mile-long visual landscape. More than 50 historic homes date from the middle 19th century to early 20th century. The protection and preservation of Saint Louis Street is overseen by the

Historic Saint Louis Street Association Incorporated in 1999, the Historic Saint Louis Street Association (HSSA) is a non-profit organization; the mission of which is to protect and preserve Historic Saint Louis Street and its community. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, Historic Saint L ...

. Five Illinois governors came from Edwardsville: namesake Ninian Edwards, who became a territorial governor in 1809 and later served as governor from 1826 to 1830;

Edward Coles Edward Coles (December 15, 1786 – July 7, 1868) was an American planter and politician, elected as the second Governor of Illinois (1822 to 1826). From an old Virginia family, Coles as a young man was a neighbor and associate of presidents ...

, elected in 1822 and a strong opponent of slavery; John Reynolds, governor from 1830 to 1834; Thomas Ford, governor from 1842 to 1846; and

Charles Deneen Charles Samuel Deneen (May 4, 1863 – February 5, 1940) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Illinois, from 1905 to 1913. He was the first Illinois governor to serve two consecutive terms totall ...

, governor from 1909 to 1913.Edwardsville web site
, additional text. Former president

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

was in Edwardsville twice, as an attorney in the 1814 courthouse and a speaker outside the 1857 courthouse on Sept. 11, 1858. The present county courthouse, a square, four-story neoclassical structure of white marble that rises to six stories at the back section, was constructed from 1913 to 1915. A 2010 issue of '' Family Circle'' magazine named Edwardsville third of their "Top 10 Best Towns for Families". Edwardsville was heavily affected by the tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021. An

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology co ...

warehouse collapsed after being hit by an EF3 tornado and six workers were killed and many others injured.

Geography and climate

According to the 2010 census, Edwardsville has an area of , of which (or 97%) is land and (or 3%) is water. In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Edwardsville have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of was recorded in July 2012. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May. Climate Zone 4A per the International Energy Conservation Code.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, 26,808 people, 8,814 households, and 5,291 families resided in the city. The population density was . There were 8,331 housing units at an average density of . The city's racial makeup was 87.70% White, 8.66%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, 1.69% Asian, 0.28% Native American, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

, 0.29% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population. There were 10,000 households, out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44, and the average family size was 2.99. The population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 16.0% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The city's median household income was $50,921, and the median family income was $65,555. Males had a median income of $47,045 versus $29,280 for females. The city's per capita income was $26,510. About 5.0% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.3% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

*MCT Trails:

Madison County Transit Madison County Transit, or MCT for short, is a bus and bike trail transportation system that serves the citizens of Madison County, which is located in Illinois approximately northeast of St. Louis. It was created in 1980 by the Madison County ...

has developed more than of scenic bikeways that weave throughout the communities of Edwardsville, nearby Glen Carbon and beyond, and connects its MCTTrail system with its public bus system. The trails are mostly asphalt. Maps of the trails, which connect to neighborhoods, schools, business districts, SIUE, parks, and more, are available on kiosks throughout the trail system or online at www.mcttrails.org. *Watershed Nature Center: wildlife preserve. The interpretive center displays native Illinois plants and animals and has education about the environment. Programming for children and adults is available. *SIUE Campus: Located on , the SIUE campus is one of the largest college campuses in the United States. The property includes rolling hills, acres of forests, and extensive fields. *Edwardsville Parks: Plummer Family Park, Winston Brown Sports Complex, Vadalabene Park, Brent Leh Dog Park, Springer Woods, Hoppe Park, Leon Corlew Splash Pad, RP Lumber Center, Leclaire Field, Joe Glik Park, City Park, Edwardsville Township Park, Leclaire Park, Lusk Memorial Park, and Rotary Park. *Arts & Culture: Edwardsville Arts Center, Wildey Theater, Edwardsville Children's Museum, Madison County Historical Museum, Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities. *Lakes: Leclaire Lake, Dunlap Lake, and Tower Lake.

Media

Print

*Daily newspaper: ''The

'' (daily and Saturday only)

Radio

WSIE-FM WSIE is a public radio station in Edwardsville, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Owned by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, it is the primary jazz station for the Greater St. Louis area. Rebranding as "The Sound" i ...

88.7, radio station of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. * WRYT-AM 1080, religious programming (Covenant Network—Roman Catholic). *Edwardsville is also served by most

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, radio stations.

Television

*ECTV Channel 10, local channel available on Charter Cable in Glen Carbon and Edwardsville.

Pop culture

Scenes for the movie '' The Lucky Ones'', starring Tim Robbins and

Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film '' Perfect Pie'' (2 ...

, were filmed in downtown Edwardsville in June 2007. However, the scene filmed was set in Denver, Colorado, and banners were hung on Edwardsville's Main Street that read, "Welcome to Denver." Scenes for the 1978 film '' Stingray'' were filmed in downtown Edwardsville, as well as in neighboring

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the G ...

. Actor

Christopher Mitchum Christopher Mitchum (born October 16, 1943) is an American film actor, screenwriter, and businessman. He was born in Los Angeles, California, the second son of film star Robert Mitchum and Dorothy Mitchum. He is the younger brother of actor Jame ...

, second son of Robert Mitchum, starred in the film. (This film is not to be confused with ''

Corvette Summer ''Corvette Summer'' is a 1978 American adventure comedy film directed by Matthew Robbins. It was Mark Hamill's first screen appearance after the unexpected success of '' Star Wars'' the previous year. Hamill stars as a California teenager who h ...

'', released in the same year.) Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne recorded "Cocaine" and "Shaky Town" in Edwardsville's Holiday Inn Room 124 for his album '' Running on Empty''. The Holiday Inn at 3080 S. Route 157 was torn down and rebuilt as a

Comfort Suites Comfort (or being comfortable'')'' is a sense of physical or psychological ease, often characterized as a lack of hardship. Persons who are lacking in comfort are uncomfortable, or experiencing discomfort. A degree of psychological comfort c ...

. A collection of poetry by Nigerian writer Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún, ''Edwardsville by Heart'' (Wisdom's Bottom Press, November 2018), was based on the time the author spent in Edwardsville for three years as a Fulbright Scholar and student. The book was described by Howard Rambsy II of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as “an artistic map disguised as a volume of poetry”, and by Ainehi Edoro, writing in

Brittle Paper ''Brittle Paper'' is an online literary magazine styled as an "African literary blog" published weekly in the English language. Its focus is on "build(ing) a vibrant African literary scene." It was founded by Ainehi Edoro (at the time a doctoral ...

, as "a magical meeting place of travelogue, memoir, and poetry." An episode of the TV series ''

House Hunters ''House Hunters'' is an American unscripted television series that airs on HGTV and is produced by Pie Town Productions. Each episode follows people making a decision about a new home purchase or rental. Format ''House Hunters'' follows indiv ...

'' was filmed in Edwardsville and aired in January 2018. The episode featured a local couple, Zach and Hannah, who grew up and went to school in Edwardsville.

Notable people

* John Hicks Adams, gunslinger and Wild West lawman * William H. Berry, Treasurer of Pennsylvania, Mayor of

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...

* John Bischoff, Major League Baseball player * Max L. Bowler, Illinois state representative * Evelyn M. Bowles, Illinois state senator *

Hedy Burress Heather E. "Hedy" Burress (born October 3, 1973) is an American actress. She had a starring role in the film ''Foxfire'' as Maddy, and later landed roles in television shows ''Boston Common'' and '' E.R.'' In the video game world, she is best kn ...

, actress (''

He's Just Not That Into You ''He's Just Not That Into You'' is a self-improvement book written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo that was published in 2004 and later adapted into a film by the same name in 2009. It was a New York Times bestseller and was featured on ''Th ...

'', ''

Foxfire Foxfire, also called fairy fire and chimpanzee fire, is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. The bluish-green glow is attributed to a luciferase, an oxidative enzyme, which emits light as it reacts with ...

,'' ''

If These Walls Could Talk ''If These Walls Could Talk'' is a 1996 American television film, broadcast on HBO. It follows the plights of three different women and their experiences with abortion. Each of the three stories takes place in the same house, 22 years apart: 1952 ...

,'' and ''

Valentine A valentine is a card or gift given on Valentine's Day, or one's sweetheart. Valentine or Valentines may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Valentine (name), a given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional cha ...

'') *

, businessman and the second

governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...

Charles S. Deneen Charles Samuel Deneen (May 4, 1863 – February 5, 1940) was an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Illinois, from 1905 to 1913. He was the first Illinois governor to serve two consecutive terms totalli ...

, US senator and the 23rd

, US senator, judge, governor of the Illinois Territory, and the third

; Edwardsville is named after him. * A. J. Epenesa, Professional Football player for the NFL. Drafted no. 54 overall in the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. T ...

* Thomas Ford, Illinois Supreme Court judge, author, and the eighth

* Earl E. Herrin, Illinois state representative *

Jason Isringhausen Jason Derik Isringhausen ( born September 7, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1995 through 2012 for the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Tamp ...

, pitcher with five

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

teams; lived in Edwardsville *

Mannie Jackson Mannie Jackson (born May 4, 1939) is the chairman and owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, for whom he played from 1962 to 1964. He was the first African American with controlling ownership in an entertainment organization and international sports t ...

, chairman and CEO of the Harlem Globetrotters; purchased the team in 1993 * Thomas Judy, Illinois legislator *

Charles E. Lippincott Charles Ellet Lippincott (January 25, 1825 – September 13, 1887) was an American physician and politician. Born in Edwardsville, Illinois, Lippincott studied at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois. He then received his medical degre ...

, California State Senator and Illinois Auditor * Mark Little, outfielder with five Major League Baseball teams; born in Edwardsville * José Martínez, first baseman/outfielder for the New York Mets; Lived in Edwardsville *

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

, actress (Jackie Harris on ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Rosea ...

'') * Joseph P. Newsham, lawyer and US congressman from Louisiana * Billie Poole, jazz singer * John Reynolds, speaker of the Illinois House, US congressman, Illinois Supreme Court justice, and the fourth

AJ Schnack AJ Schnack is an independent filmmaker. He directed '' Kurt Cobain: About a Son'', which premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. His first feature film was a documentary about the Brooklyn-based band They Might Be Giants tit ...

, director of '' Kurt Cobain: About a Son'' *

Jesse L. Simpson Jesse Leander Simpson (January 13, 1884 – May 7, 1973) was an American jurist. Born in Troy, Illinois, Simpson grew up on a farm and worked as a telegraph operator. In 1909, he received his law degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and was ...

, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court * Sam M. Vadalabene, Illinois state legislator'Illinois Blue Book 1993-1994,' Biographical Sketch of Sam M. Vadaladene, pg. 121 *

Lee Wheat Leroy William Wheat (September 15, 1929 – July 29, 2008) was an American professional baseball pitcher who worked in 11 career Major League Baseball games for the 1954 Philadelphia Athletics and 1955's maiden edition of the Kansas City Athletics ...

, pitcher for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakla ...

and Kansas City Athletics; born in Edwardsville * Rudolph G. Wilson, first black school board member/president in the city's history and educational leader for more than 45 years. * Rudolph D. Specht, famous actor starring in multiple World War 2 historical fiction films.

References

External links

City of Edwardsville
website
Edwardsville Public LibraryEdwardsville Intelligencer
newspaper website
Leclaire National Historic DistrictHistoric Saint Louis Street AssociationEdwardsville Arts CenterEdwardsville, IL on Weather Underground
Local Weather Information

about The Griffin House
Metro-East Lutheran High School
A Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod high school {{Authority control Cities in Illinois Cities in Madison County, Illinois County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1818 1818 establishments in Illinois Territory