[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11185]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATING THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CITY OF ALTON, ILLINOIS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 11, 2012

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing the 175th Anniversary of the City of Alton, Illinois.
  Among the first Europeans to explore the area later settled as Alton, 
Illinois were Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet in 1673. The 
Illiniwek tribes had lived in the area for many years and a Native 
American drawing, the Piasa, a fierce-looking bird that was painted on 
the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River was first documented by 
Fr. Marquette. The drawing has been reproduced many times and the Piasa 
can still be seen on the bluffs today.
  Situated on the banks of the Mississippi, between its confluences 
with the Missouri and Illinois Rivers, Alton was a natural location for 
development as a river town in the early 19th Century. Rufus Easton, a 
St. Louis businessman who ran a ferry operation at Alton named the town 
after his eldest son in 1818. Because of its excellent location, the 
community experienced tremendous growth and was incorporated as a city 
in 1837.
  1837 was the year of another important event in Alton's history, 
although hardly a highlight. Abolitionist printer, Elijah Lovejoy, who 
had moved from St. Louis to Alton because of increasing tensions in the 
slave state of Missouri, was killed by a mob in Alton as he attempted 
to protect his printing press. Other significant historical notes of 
Alton in the mid-19th Century included being a major stop on the 
Underground Railroad and the site of a Union prison for Confederate 
soldiers, many of whom died there due to rampant disease. Alton was 
also the location for the final Lincoln-Douglas debate, in 1858.
  Famous people from Alton include renowned jazz musician Miles Davis 
and Robert Wadlow, known as the ``Alton Giant,'' and still the tallest 
human in recorded history at 8 ft. 11 inches tall.
  The 20th Century saw an increase in manufacturing in the Alton area, 
with steel, glass and cardboard boxes among the leading industries that 
provided employment for Alton residents. As Alton has expanded and 
diversified, it has always remained tied to the river. The area is 
referred to as Riverbend because of the arc of the Mississippi at 
Alton. The National Great Rivers Museum and the National Great Rivers 
Research and Education Center, both near the Melvin Price Lock and Dam 
at Alton, are two recent additions that promote the study and 
appreciation of the rivers that gave rise to many cities like Alton.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the 175th 
Anniversary of the City of Alton, Illinois and to wish them the very 
best for a bright and prosperous future.

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