Edwardsville is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Madison County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, and is a suburb of

St. Louis 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 ...

. 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 ...

, then Governor of the Illinois Territory. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the Edwardsville Arts Center, the ''Edwardsville Journal'', the '' Madison County Record'', and the '' Edwardsville Intelligencer'' are based here. Edwardsville High School 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 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, 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, a key trail in the settlement of Central Illinois, used Edwardsville as a northward launching point. In 1868 The Bank of Edwardsville 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 in ...

. 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 The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. 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 Edwardsville i ...

. 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 Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

; John Reynolds, governor from 1830 to 1834; Thomas Ford, governor from 1842 to 1846; and Charles Deneen, 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 thro ...

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 ''Family Circle'' was an American magazine that covered such topics as homemaking, recipes, and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a group of sev ...

'' 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 A deadly late-season tornado outbreak, the deadliest on record in December, produced catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across portions of the Southern United States and Ohio Valley from the evening of December 10 to the early morning ...

. 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 technolog ...

warehouse collapsed after being hit by an EF3

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

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 A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

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 White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 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 ens ...

, 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 O ...

, 0.29% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.35% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

was $26,510. About 5.0% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, 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 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 A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

: ''The Edwardsville Intelligencer'' (daily and Saturday only)

Radio

* WSIE-FM 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, 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'' (200 ...

, were filmed in downtown Edwardsville in June 2007. However, the scene filmed was set in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 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, Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is a p ...

. 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 Jam ...

, second son of

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

, starred in the film. (This film is not to be confused with '' Corvette Summer'', released in the same year.) Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne recorded "Cocaine" and "Shaky Town" in Edwardsville's

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

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 Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, 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, actress ('' He's Just Not That Into You'', '' Foxfire,'' '' If These Walls Could Talk,'' and '' Valentine'') *

, businessman and the second governor of Illinois * Charles S. Deneen, US senator and the 23rd governor of Illinois *

, US senator, judge, governor of the Illinois Territory, and the third governor of Illinois; Edwardsville is named after him. *

A. J. Epenesa Andrew Jared Epenesa (born September 15, 1998) is an American football defensive end for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa, and was drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2020 N ...

, Professional Football player for the NFL. Drafted no. 54 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills * Thomas Ford, Illinois Supreme Court judge, author, and the eighth governor of Illinois * Earl E. Herrin, Illinois state representative * Jason Isringhausen, 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, chairman and CEO of the Harlem Globetrotters; purchased the team in 1993 *

Thomas Judy Thomas Judy (December 19, 1804 – October 4, 1879) was an American politician. The son of Samuel Judy, Judy lived in Edwardsville, Illinois. Thomas Judy served in the Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives ...

, Illinois legislator * Charles E. Lippincott, California State Senator and Illinois Auditor * Mark Little, outfielder with five

Major League Baseball 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; born in Edwardsville * José Martínez, first baseman/outfielder for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

; 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'') * Joseph P. Newsham, lawyer and US congressman from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

* Billie Poole, jazz singer * John Reynolds, speaker of the Illinois House, US congressman, Illinois Supreme Court justice, and the fourth governor of Illinois * AJ Schnack, director of '' Kurt Cobain: About a Son'' * Jesse L. Simpson, 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, pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

; 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