Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1868.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives East Alton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, East Alton is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #459 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of East Alton’s overall grade.
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 East Alton’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.5 points). Two sources give 1893.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 East Alton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
East Alton was incorporated as a village in 1893 (some say 1894).
William Cobb, namesake of Cobb Street, was one of the first mayors, from 1895 to 1896, and again in 1902–1905.
Like many River Bend communities, the town dates back to when European settlers came to the area in the early 19th century. And it wasn't always East Alton — the community was known as Emerald, Milton Settlement and Alton Junction. Alton Junction was also known as Wann Junction, famous locally for being the site of a horrific rail disaster.
Passages that mention East Alton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 19121912 · page 615Read the page →
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Factory No. 3 of Beall Bros Company manufacturers of miners’ tools and miners’ supplies, is located in East Alton, the other two factories being in Alton. The East Alton factory makes a specialty of heavy hammers, railroad track tools, etc. The officers are J.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial History of Madison County, Illinois and Its People1912 · page 615Read the page →
Read the text
Factory No. 3 of Beall Bros Company manufacturers of miners’ tools and miners’ supplies, is located in East Alton, the other two factories l>eing in Alton. The East Alton factory makes a specialty of heavy hammers, railroad track tools, etc. The officers are J.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial History of Madison County, Illinois and Its People1912 · page 613Read the page →
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East Alton, originally known as Alton Junc¬ tion, then as Wann Station, and now East Al¬ ton, had a population of 454 in 1910. It has since grown rapidly. It is the junction of the main line of the Big Four with the Alton branch, and the southern terminus of the Il¬ linois division of the C. B. & Q. It is con¬ nected with Alton by the Alton, Granite City
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Centennial history of Madison County, Illinois, and its people, 1812 to 19121912 · page 614Read the page →
Read the text
East Alton has two churches, Baptist and Methodist, and a handsome public school building. Adjoining East Alton are the su¬ burbs of Blinn and Niagara, established by H.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
East Alton, 1868 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of East Alton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1927Alton 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 East Alton.
Every building
East Alton, building by building, 1909–1921
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.
In 1893, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. East Alton’s post office opened in 1868, and the census of 1900 counted 454 people here.
How does East Alton rank for history?
East Alton is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #459 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.
How old are the homes in East Alton?
20% of East Alton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
