Edwardsville, Illinois

Edwardsville is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,293. It is the county seat of Madison County and is the third oldest city in the State of Illinois. The city was named in honor of Ninian Edwards, 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 located here. It is also home to some of the area's biggest construction companies, including Dean and Sons Construction, Phelps Construction, and Thiems Construction.

Edwardsville is a part of Southern Illinois, the Metro-East region, and the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is near Glen Carbon, Illinois. It is part of the Edwardsville School District, which also includes the villages of Glen Carbon, Hamel, and Moro, as well as the townships areas around them.

A 2010 issue of Family Circle magazine named Edwardsville third of their "Top 10 Best Towns for Families."

Parks and Recreation

 * MCT Trails: Madison County Transit has developed more than 85 mi of scenic bikeways that weave throughout the communities of Edwardsville, nearby Glen Carbon, and beyond. The trails are mostly asphalt. Maps of the trails, which connect to neighborhoods, schools, business districts, SIUE, parks, and more, can be found on kiosks throughout the trail system, or online at www.mcttrails.org.


 * Watershed Nature Center: 46 acre 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 2660 acre, the SIUE campus has the most acreage of any campus in the United States. The property includes rolling hills, acres of forests, and extensive fields.


 * Edwardsville Parks: Glik Park, City Park, Edwardsville Township Park, Leclaire Park, and Lusk Park.


 * Arts & Culture: The Edwardsville Arts Center.

History
Edwardsville was originally incorporated in 1818, making it the third oldest city in Illinois. 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 Ninian Edwards, then territorial governor of Illinois. (Illinois did not become a state until 1818.)

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. The village also provided educational and recreational opportunities and made it financially possible for anyone to own his own home. Unlike company towns such as Pullman near Chicago, this was a company town where 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, located in the former Leclaire schoolhouse. Several Nelson factory buildings were renovated and adapted for use as the historic N. O. Nelson Campus of Lewis and Clark Community College. 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 visual landscape that is a mile in length. 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.

Five Illinois governors came from Edwardsville: namesake Ninian Edwards, who became a territorial governor in 1809 and later served as governor from 1826–1830; Edward Coles, elected in 1822 and a strong opponent of slavery; John Reynolds, governor from 1830 to 1834; Thomas Ford, governor from 1842–1846; and Charles Deneen, governor from 1909 to 1913.

Future president Abraham Lincoln 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 1913-15.

Demographics
As of the census of 2005, there were 24,047 people, 7,975 households, and 5,199 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,549.2 people per square mile (598.2/km²). There were 8,331 housing units at an average density of 600.6 per square mile (231.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.70% White, 8.66% African American, 1.69% Asian, 0.28% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 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 median income for a household in the city was $50,921, and the median income for a family was $65,555. Males had a median income of $47,045 versus $29,280 for females. The per capita income for the city 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.

Notable people

 * Edward Coles, businessman and 2nd Governor of Illinois (1822–1826).
 * Charles S. Deneen, member of the U.S. Senate and 23rd (1905–1909) and 24th (1909–1913) Governor of Illinois.
 * Elizabeth Donald, author and reporter with the Belleville News-Democrat.
 * Ninian Edwards, U.S. Senator, judge, Governor of the Illinois Territory (1809–1818), and 3rd Governor of Illinois (1826–1830). The City of Edwardsville is named after him.
 * Thomas Ford, member of the Illinois Supreme Court, author, and eighth Governor of Illinois (1842–1846).
 * Hedy Burress, TV and film actress, most famous for her roles in films like He's Just Not That Into You, Foxfire, If These Walls Could Talk and Valentine.
 * Mannie Jackson, chairman and CEO of the Harlem Globetrotters. Jackson purchased the team in 1993.
 * Gary W. Kronk, author and astronomer, with seven books published and a minor planet named after him. Attended Edwardsville High School and Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.
 * Laurie Metcalf, TV and film actress, most famous for playing Jackie Harris on Roseanne. Attended Edwardsville High School.
 * Joseph P. Newsham, U.S. Representative from Louisiana and lawyer who practiced in Edwardsville.
 * John Reynolds, Speaker of the Illinois House, member of the U.S. House, Illinois Supreme Court justice, and fourth Governor of Illinois (1830–1834).
 * AJ Schnack, director of Kurt Cobain: About a Son and other films.

Media
Print
 * Daily newspaper: The Edwardsville Intelligencer (daily and Saturday only), Belleville News-Democrat,and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
 * Weekly newspaper: The Edwardsville Journal (every Wednesday).

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, 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," according to a June 7, 2007 story from the Belleville News-Democrat.

Former President Bill Clinton held a rally at the Dunham Theater at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on January 30, 2008 while campaigning for Hillary Clinton for President.

Scenes for the 1978 film Stingray were filmed in downtown Edwardsville, as well as in neighboring Alton, Illinois. Actor Christopher Mitchum, second son of Robert Mitchum, starred in the film. This film is not to be confused with Corvette Summer, released in the same year.

Singer Jackson Browne recorded "Cocaine" and "Shaky Town" in Edwardsville's Holiday Inn Room 124 for his album Running on Empty. It is now a Comfort Inn located at 3080 S. Route 157.