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History
Edwardsville
 Although there is some debate about exact
dates, Edwardsville
is generally credited as
being the third-oldest town in the state of
Illinois. Due in part to a strong Native
American population that had thrived in the
area — especially 20 miles southwest, around
Cahokia — some of the first European
settlers to forge through the Illinois
prairies halted their westward journeys in
this region. In 1805, a North Carolina
settler named Thomas Kirkpatrick erected a
two-room cabin on a bluff overlooking
Cahokia Creek. His family homestead, which
would have been located on the northern side
of modern-day Edwardsville, prospered from
the beginning, and word of their good
fortunes quickly spread back east.
By 1809 more settlers from the Southeast
were following suit, joining the
Kirkpatricks and forming a small village. In
particular, Edwardsville was forever changed
by the arrival of Benjamin Stephenson, who
migrated along with Ninian Edwards — the
future territorial governor of Illinois —
from Kentucky. Stephenson quickly
established himself as a potent political
and community presence. During the War of
1812, Stephenson — already an appointed
sheriff — attained the rank of colonel.
After the war, Col. Stephenson served as a
congressional representative for the
Illinois territory from 1816–1818.
Despite the rapid rise of his influence,
perhaps the most lasting impression
Stephenson’s life made upon the area was
architectural. Both Stephenson and Gov.
Edwards erected stately Federal-style brick
homes in a portion of town they referred to
as Upper Edwardsville. Miraculously, with
the assistance of ambitious restoration
efforts, Col. Benjamin Stephenson’s house
still stands today, a monument to the
pioneer spirit of one of Edwardsville’s
founding fathers. For Ninian Edwards’ part,
the most significant legacy he left upon the
local area was his name. In 1812, Edwards
had anointed the Kirkpatrick cabin with the
municipal honor of being the seat of justice
for the newly created Madison County. In
return, in 1813, Kirkpatrick made the
magnanimous gesture of naming the young town
Edwardsville.
Throughout the decades leading up to the
Civil War, Edwardsville continued to grow.
The Land of Goshen section of south
Edwardsville served as the western terminus
of a road that cut diagonally across the
state from Shawneetown — on the Ohio River —
to Madison County, creating a vital artery
for population growth. By the time the war
ended in 1865, Edwardsville was a thriving
town of nearly 2,000 that featured
everything from a courthouse and a local
newspaper (The Intelligencer) to beer
breweries and a steam furniture factory.
Around 1890, a future industrialist named
N.O. Nelson began a project of progressive
vision and effective action that would
forever change the fabric of Edwardsville.
Inspired by new economic philosophies
regarding profit sharing, Nelson built a
modern manufacturing facility, complete with
a selection of modest, yet attractive, new
homes for his employees. He named the
project Leclaire after a French
profit-sharing pioneer. The 150 acres
acquired by Nelson for Leclaire sat just
southeast of Edwardsville’s center. His
factory, which made toilets and other
plumbing fixtures, was said to have been a
model of efficiency highlighted by exemplary
working conditions.
Good fortunes persisted for Edwardsville in
the 20th century. The Edwardsville Chamber
of Commerce, an advocacy group for local
business, was founded in 1923. The country’s
most revered highway, Route 66, blazed its
way from Chicago to Los Angeles right
through the heart of Edwardsville. The area
was growing, and new businesses and
industries were demanding employees with a
college education. Early in 1955, The
Edwardsville Chamber of Commerce established
a committee that initiated a four-year
institution, Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville.
Glen Carbon
Glen Carbon does not have the same prominent
early settlement history of which
Edwardsville can boast. However, its
historical heritage is just as rich.
Literally translated, Glen Carbon means
“Valley of Coal.” And Glen Carbon’s history
is inseparably linked with coal.
Glen Carbon was actually home to settlers of
European descent before Edwardsville. As
early as 1801, Col. Samuel Judy, a man of
Swiss lineage, is reported to have become
the first permanent resident of Madison
County. However, the area remained
predominantly rural through most of the
century. After the Civil War, coal mining
became a serious industrial venture in
Southwestern Illinois. The Madison Coal
Corporation owned and operated two
bituminous coal mines and a coal-washing
facility several miles south of
Edwardsville, which drew an increasing
population into these hills. Finally, in
1892, 76 residents petitioned the county
court, and the village of Glen Carbon was
officially incorporated.
 Although coal mining provided the economic
bedrock for Glen Carbon, brick production
came to the community around the turn of the
century and played a significant role in
local industry. In fact, the brick
manufacturer — the Saint Louis Press Brick
Company — is reported to have produced all
the bricks used in constructing facilities
for the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
Along with the Madison Coal Corporation, the
brick company participated in the building
of company houses. Called “saltbox” homes,
these diminutive structures were once common
in Glen Carbon, and some still stand along
the town’s Main Street.
While Glen Carbon owes its municipal origins
to the industry of coal mining and its
cultural origins to the working peoples of
Eastern European descent, the town owes much
of its current shape to the arrival of
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
during the 1960s. By 1980, Glen Carbon’s
population had exploded, ballooning by 174
percent. Today, Glen Carbon still honors its
coal-mining heritage; statues and parks
stand throughout the town as dignified
reminders. Yet, Glen Carbon’s identity is
still being defined as it shoulders a great
deal of the growth demanded by the region’s
steadfast prosperity.
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