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A+History
History · Alton

Alton dates to 1818, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #30 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

13 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Lyman Trumbull House, a National Historic Landmark, and four historic districts with 356 buildings between them. Below: 41 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1840.

1818founded
13on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
41old photos & papers
65famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Alton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Alton began

When was Alton founded?

1818

Alton dates its founding to 1818 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 2,340 in 18402020 census: 25,676208 years

How historic is Alton?

A+

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Alton’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alton is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #30 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Alton’s overall grade.
Founding era1818, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194027.6% of homes (±2.3) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register13 listings, 364 historic buildings, 144 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 96%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Alton’s 144 sits above most of its state (95% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 364 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1818.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Alton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Christian Hill Historic District takes in 266 historic buildings.A town in old photos41 old photos, postcards and papers, 1833–1935.A National Historic Landmark13 places on the National Register, including Lyman Trumbull House, a National Historic Landmark.Famous sons and daughtersMiles Davis, Robert Wadlow and 63 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

13 listings protect 364 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
13
National Historic Landmark
1
Lyman Trumbull House
historic buildings protected
364
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Guertler House
Guertler HouseHaskell PlayhouseUpper Alton Historic DistrictChristian Hill Historic DistrictPost HouseMount LookoutAlton Chapter House, built 1910Yakel House and Union BreweryMiddletown Historic DistrictHotel StratfordAlton National CemeteryAlton Gas & Electric Power HouseLyman Trumbull House★
BuildingsDistrictsSites★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne2
Italianate2
Classical Revival2
Late Greek Revival1
Greek Revival1
Second Empire1
★ Landmark
Lyman Trumbull HouseBuilding
Guertler HouseBuilding
Haskell PlayhouseQueen Anne
Upper Alton Historic DistrictLate Greek Revival
Christian Hill Historic DistrictDistrict
Post HouseGreek Revival
Mount LookoutSecond Empire
Alton Chapter HousePrairie School · Built 1910
All 13 listings
Yakel House and Union BreweryDistrict · listed 1982Middletown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982Hotel StratfordBuilding · listed 2000Alton National CemeterySite · listed 2011Alton Gas & Electric Power HouseBuilding · listed 2019

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

By decade

Alton, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1830s–1850s6 items
"The Pro-Slavery Riot on November 7, 1837. Death of Rev. E. P. Lovejoy."1833"The Pro-Slavery Riot on November 7, 1837. Death of R…DocumentAlton, Illinois1854Alton, IllinoisCircular advertising a supper for benefit of the Colored Baptist Church, to be held over Robinson’s Saloon, (Alton, Ill…1855Circular advertising a supper for benefit of the Colo…Meyers Universum Band 18 241857Meyers Universum Band 18 24The Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858 - CLIPPING FROM THE ALTON DAILY WHIG1858The Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858 - CLIPPING FROM T…The Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858 - CORNER OF CITY HALL1858The Lincoln–Douglas debates of 1858 - CORNER OF CITY …
1860s2 items
North-western view of1865North-western view ofAlton, Madison Co., Illinois 18671867Alton, Madison Co., Illinois 1867
1900s5 items
Mississippi at Alton, Ill's1900Mississippi at Alton, Ill'sThe city of1908The city ofThe city of Alton, Illinois1908The city of Alton, IllinoisMonticello Seminary1908Monticello SeminaryW.M.A. Grounds1908W.M.A. Grounds
1910s7 items
Noon hour. These boys are all working in the Illinois Glass Co1910Noon hour. These boys are all working in the Illinois…Noon hour. Illinois Glass Co. (Shop #7.) These boys all work in above glass company. Tuesday noon. Location: Alton, Ill…1910Noon hour. Illinois Glass Co. (Shop #7.) These boys a…Group of glass workers at Shop 7, Illinois Glass Co. 12:30 P.M. One of the smallest boys is Dennis White, 1013 Liberty …1910Group of glass workers at Shop 7, Illinois Glass Co. …Group of Glass Workers in Shop 6, Illinois Glass Co. The smallest boy is Polish and does not understand English (illite…1910Group of Glass Workers in Shop 6, Illinois Glass Co. …Group of glass workers Shops 6 & 7, Illinois Glass Co. 12:45 P.M. Even the tiny chap on left end of photo was working. …1910Group of glass workers Shops 6 & 7, Illinois Glass Co…Noon hour. These boys are all working in the Illinois Glass Co. 1) Smallest boy, Frank (?) Dwyer, 1009 1/2 E. 6 St., sa…1910Noon hour. These boys are all working in the Illinois…Illinois1917Illinois
1930s21 items
HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 0 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 0 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 0 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 0 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 1 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 1 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 1 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 1 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 2 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 2 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 2 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 2 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 3 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 3 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 3 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 3 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 4 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 4 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 4 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 4 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 5 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 5 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 5 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 5 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 6 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 6 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 6 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 6 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 7 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 7 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 7 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall1933HABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 7 of 7) - Shurtleff Colleg…Illinois1935IllinoisIllinois1935IllinoisIllinois1935IllinoisIllinois1935IllinoisIllinois1935Illinois
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Alton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alton.

Read it all →

Although Alton once was growing faster than the nearby city of St. Louis, a coalition of St. Louis businessmen planned to build a competing town to stop Alton's expansion and bring business to St. Louis. The resulting town was Grafton, Illinois.

Many blocks of housing in Alton were built in the Victorian Queen Anne style. They represent a prosperous period in the river city's history. At the top of the hill in the commercial area, several stone churches and a fine city hall also represent the city's wealth during its good times based on river traffic, manufacturing, and shipping. It was a commercial center for a large agricultural area. Numerous residences on hills have sweeping views of the Mississippi River.

ChaptersEarly history19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alton, 1818 to 1988

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818
    FoundingAlton is established
  3. 1826Post officeThe Alton post office opens
  4. 1833In the archive"The Pro-Slavery Riot on November 7, 1837. Death of Rev. E. P. Lovejoy."
  5. 1835Post officeThe Upper Alton post office opens
  6. 1854In the archiveAlton, Illinois
  7. 1865In the archiveNorth-western view of
  8. 20th century
  9. 1900In the archiveMississippi at Alton, Ill's
  10. 1910BuiltAlton Chapter House is built
  11. 1910In the archiveNoon hour. These boys are all working in the Illinois Glass Co
  12. 1912Post officeThe Upper Alton post office closes
  13. 1918Born hereRobert Wadlow is born here
  14. 1926Born hereMiles Davis is born here
  15. 1927On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  16. 1933In the archiveHABS ILL,60-ALT,1A- (sheet 0 of 7) - Shurtleff College, Loomis Hall
  17. 1954Born hereDon "The Dragon" Wilson is born here
  18. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 43,047
  19. 1975LandmarkLyman Trumbull House named a National Historic Landmark
  20. 1988Born hereRicochet is born here
On the map

Alton on the map, 1927 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Alton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Alton on the 1927 USGS mapAlton on the 1934 USGS mapAlton on the 1948 USGS mapAlton on the 1950 USGS mapAlton on the 1968 USGS mapAlton on the 1974 USGS mapAlton on the 1994 USGS map1927Alton sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Alton.

Every building

Alton, building by building, 1885–1915

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Alton fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 9
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Alton, Illinois
Retake this viewAlton, Illinois, 1854

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Alton’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Alton, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,0001850190019502000Peak: 43,047

Peaked at 43,047 in 1960; 25,676 people lived here in 2020.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Alton’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

65 famous people were born in Alton

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Miles DavisAmerican jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and compos… · b. 1926
Robert WadlowAmerican who was the tallest recorded person in… · b. 1918
RicochetAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1988
Don "The Dragon" WilsonAmerican kickboxer · b. 1954
Christina RomerEconomist · b. 1958
Mary Beth HughesActress · b. 1919
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Alton’s post office has been open since 1826. Another post office, Upper Alton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Alton
1826–today
Upper Alton
1835–1912
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
MiltonSloanUpper Alton
Gone or out of use
Alby QuarrymineAlton MinemineAlton School of Practical NursingschoolCulp SchoolschoolDelmar Public SchoolschoolDouglas Public SchoolschoolDunbar Public SchoolschoolGarfield Public SchoolschoolHumboldt Public SchoolschoolLincoln Public SchoolschoolLowell Public SchoolschoolMilton Public SchoolschoolWestern Military Academyschool
7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Alton
Alton NationalAlton State HospitalLovejoy MemorialMiltonNorth Alton ConfederateOakwoodSaint Joseph

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Alton’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAlton, Illinois: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Alton Township13 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWood River Township1 historic placeC+Godfrey1 historic placeBEast AltonIts storyC+Foster Township1 historic placeB

Questions about Alton’s history

What year was Alton founded?

In 1818, according to Wikidata. Alton’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1840 counted 2,340 people here.

How does Alton rank for history?

Alton is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #30 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Alton?

13 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Lyman Trumbull House (a National Historic Landmark since 1975) and the Guertler House (listed 1974, the first), 4 historic districts with 356 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 364 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Alton?

28% of Alton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1953.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (32), the Library of Congress (9), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (13), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.