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Leclaire Village
After the Civil War,
workers flocked to factory jobs in the
cities, filled with hope for a better life.
But optimism soon faded. They toiled long,
grueling hours for petty wages and, with
their families, crowded into shabby,
unhealthy tenements - the only housing
affordable for most. Those who complained
about poor working conditions or low wages
were fired. Attempts to strengthen existing
unions were crushed by management. Strikes
erupted, quickly turning bloody, and common
people lived in a climate of poverty and
fear.
As an arbitrator in an 1886 railroad strike,
N.O. Nelson was directly confronted with -
and repelled by - the callous attitude of
management toward workers. The exploitation
he witnessed and the violence sparked by the
strike stirred him to seek a remedy to the
capital/labor conflict which he could
implement in his own company.
About this time, Sedley Taylor's book on
profit sharing, Between Labor and Capital,
suggested a solution to Nelson, and he soon
announced his own profit sharing plan to
employees. He also visited a number of
industrial villages in New England and'
Europe and, by 1888, had determined to
relocate N.O. Nelson Manufacturing Company
to a rural area. Around the factory, he
would construct his own model village.
Drawing on earlier examples of the
cooperative movement and profit sharing, he
pursued what he saw as a middle ground
between capitalism and socialism. His intent
was to create a total environment which
would foster contentment for those who lived
there. The name for his enterprise, Leclaire,
was chosen by the workers and came from
Taylor's account of the house of Edmund
Leclaire in Paris, France, one of the
pioneering experiments in profit sharing.
By 1890, Nelson had located a site he
thought suitable for his factory and village
on the outskirts of Edwardsville, Illinois.
Seeing the economic potential of Nelson's
plan, Edwardsville businessmen and residents
enthusiastically pledged $24,400 in cash
subscriptions and land contributions to
further the project. The land would be
turned over to Nelson as certain phases of
the development were completed.
The 150.5 acres ultimately secured by Nelson
was fairly level, favorable for plant and
residential construction. Tracks abutting
the factory grounds provided access to
several major railroad lines. A nearby coal
mine supplied fuel, and a sizable pond
provided both water for the plant's boilers
and recreational opportunities. It was
ideal.
Nelson envisioned the residents of Leclaire
leading steady, balanced life - a rational
life. At the center of such a life, he
believed, is work. It is not surprising,
then, that he placed great importance on the
environment in which men would perform their
daily labors. A.E. Cameron, the prominent
St. Louis architect hired by Nelson,
designed a remarkable manufacturing facility
which stood in marked contrast to other
factories of the time. It provided exemplary
working conditions.
The single-story brick buildings were
spacious and each housed a separate
manufacturing function. Skylights topped the
buildings, and the walls were lined with
large, arched windows, which flooded the
work space with natural light and opened to
admit fresh air. All buildings were equipped
with electrical lighting, a sprinkler system
for fire protection, and ice water for the
men.
In 1894, journalist Nellie Bly would write
after a visit to Leclaire, "As I walked
through the factories, I looked at the men.
It is generally easy to judge a man's
condition by his face ... the workmen in the
Leclaire factories were working away as if
work was a pleasure."
Nelson believed that man draws inspiration
from aesthetic beauty, especially in his
surroundings. As he turned to development of
areas beyond the factory, he sought the
talents of Julius Pitzman, the St. Louis
city surveyor and civil engineer who oversaw
the development of Forest Park in St. Louis.
The first residential area was laid out in a
pleasing, curvilinear design and the streets
lined with trees. Inspired by cities in
Europe, Pitzman's plan restricted land use
in the area to residences and schools. Lots
were to be not less than 15,000 sq. ft., and
a thirty-foot setback was required to
enhance the area's attractiveness.
Unfortunately, after 1900, lot sizes were
reduced and new streets laid out on a grid
system. Fittingly, street names reflect
Nelson's ideological inspirations. For
example:
Jefferson: Thomas Jefferson, author
of the Declaration of Independence and
advocate of public education.
Hale: Edward Everett Hale, noted
clergyman, writer and orator; outspoken
supporter of abolition and labor unions.
Holyoake: George Jacob Holyoake,
leader of the cooperative movement in Great
Britain.
Ruskin: John Ruskin, English writer,
art critic and social reformer who rebelled
against the aesthetically and socially
debasing effects of the Industrial
Revolution.
Other streets, such as Madison, Franklin,
Lincoln and Longfellow, held similar
significance for Nelson.
Ruskin, along with others, was influential
in forming Nelson's ideas about the
importance of aesthetic beauty and moral
upliftment in countering the negative impact
of industrialization. Nelson believed
landscape has a shaping influence on
character, and Leclaire was designed as a
garden community. Open areas around the
factory were planted in grassy lawns and
flowerbeds, and a border of Osage orange
trees screened the industrial from the
residential area.
Nelson actively promoted gardening, setting
the example in his own yard. Free plants and
flowers, grown in the company's steam-heated
greenhouse, were offered to anyone who
wanted them, and each year, prizes were
awarded to the best gardens.
The Academy: Universal Education
In the mold of Thomas Jefferson, Nelson
strongly advocated free education for all,
and at The Academy, young people from both
the village and nearby Edwardsville attended
school free of charge.
Children moved through a three-phase
educational system structured by Nelson,
beginning with kindergarten. After
kindergarten to age twelve, students
followed a normal course of instruction.
Between the ages of twelve to eighteen, time
was divided between classroom instruction in
academic subjects and training in manual
skills. Boys spent a portion of their days
either in the factory or at the cooperative
dairy farm on the southern perimeter of the
village, while girls were schooled in the
domestic arts. Again, Nelson's view of the
preeminence of work in life is evident.
Adults, too benefited from The Academy,
which housed a 2,000 volume library and
provided space for public meetings and
debates. A speaker series drew people to
hear such notable figures as Hull House
founder Jane Addams,,business reformer Sam
"Golden Rule" Jones, and social reformer
Edward Everett Hale.
Leclaire was not a place of all work and no
play, and abundant recreational facilities
were provided. The sliding walls of The
Academy were often pulled back, expanding
its four classrooms into a setting for
dances, concerts, theatrical productions and
magic lantern shows.
Other, more athletic entertainments were
available as well. Adjacent to The Academy
lay a two-and-a-half acre recreational area
with playing fields for baseball and
football, courts for tennis, and a structure
which housed a bowling alley and a billiards
room. Sand was brought in to form a beach at
Leclaire Lake for swimmers, and a park area
was popular for picnicking. On summer
evenings, people gathered around the
bandstand on the west shore to listen to
concerts.
The Residential Area: The Ideal of Home
Ownership
Nelson attributed much of the
dissatisfaction among factory workers in the
cities to inadequate housing and the
hopelessness of home ownership. He
determined to place home ownership in
Leclaire within reach of all who wanted it.
Generous building lots could be had at a
fair price - purchased on installment, with
payments adjusted to a man's wages and the
size of his family.
If a worker desired, the company would build
his house for minimal profit over the cost
of materials. Should a homeowner later
decide to sell his property, the company
would buy it back at the original purchase
price, less rent for the time occupied.
Always mindful of the importance of economic
security, Nelson also established a
provident fund to protect workers and their
families from hardship in case of serious
illness, injury or death.
Most of the houses in Leclaire are modest,
but attractive, frame structures. Elements
of then-popular architectural styles may
still be seen throughout the area - Queen
Anne, ltalianate, Gothic Revival, Classical
- and it is likely that many of these
features were mail-ordered from mill
catalogs. None of the houses are truly grand
or pretentious, however. They are more aptly
described as comfortable and workmanlike,
qualities which seem consistent with the
values Nelson promoted.
A Dream Ahead of Its Time
Leclaire thrived at first under the guiding
hand of Nelson, though it never realized the
full scope of his expectations. There were
families, certainly, which found in Leclaire
the better life of which they had dreamed.
Others rejected Nelson's values and scorned
the life of simple dignity and rationality
he offered. It was these who were the source
of Nelson's ultimate disappointment and
these, perhaps, who prompted the judgment of
Nelson's friend, Upton Sinclair: Leclaire
was a dream ahead of its time.
A Man of Vision
In the middle years of the 19th century,
industrialization began its inevitable
spread from Europe to America. Born in 1844,
N.0. Nelson was to prove himself a true
child of the industrial revolution, although
he was born in Norway and grew up in rural
northwestern Missouri after immigrating with
his family to the United States at the age
of two.
In young adulthood, Nelson left the family
farm and joined the Union Army. As the Civil
War drew to a close, the prospect of a
reunified nation opened new potential for
industrial and economic development.
Determined to seize the opportunity, Nelson
headed for St. Louis by then a thriving
commercial center.
In an age when vast fortunes were made at
the expense of labor, Nelson emerges as an
industrialist with a finely tuned
conscience. He was exceptionally well read,
a man of ideas as well as of action. He was
a Unitarian, imbued with strong values
regarding the fundamental right of man to
live in freedom and dignity.
The National Register of Historic Places
In the 1930's, Leclaire's existence as an
independent village ended with the
annexation into the City of Edwardsville. To
the present time, however, the area retains
much of the character and most of the
structures of the original development.
Residents of the area, recognizing its
significance, have organized to preserve its
integrity.
In 1979, the Historic Preservation
Commission of the City of Edwardsville
petitioned the U.S. Department of the
Interior for recognition of Leclaire as a
historic district on the National Register
of Historic Places Inventory. The nomination
was approved, and Leclaire moves proudly
toward its second century with official
acknowledgment of its unique contribution to
American history.
Taken from the brochure "Historic Tour of
Leclaire Village" published by the
Edwardsville Economic Development Commission
& Edwardsville Historic Preservation
Commission.
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