Madison County Historical Society MCHS News September 2014 Opening Doors to Madison County History Vol. 12 No. 5 January, 2013 Vol. 1, No. 1 715 N Main Street ALTON AND THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER Edwardsville, IL 62025 By Donald J. Huber Alton, , like Hours: many river cities, is Wed-Fri 9 am - 4 pm located at a spot where Sunday 1 pm - 4 pm one man saw his op- Group Tours Available portunity to prosper on the American frontier. Free Admission Rufus Easton chose the future location of Alton in 1818 because he in- Museum Phone: tended to establish a 618-656-7562 ferry crossing on the Continued on page 4 Mississippi at the north Library Phone: 618-656-7569 Continued on page 6

Web Address: madcohistory.org FALL CALENDAR VETS & FEDS IN THE Exhibit FAMILY TREE E-mail: November - January Do you have a family member who [email protected] VETERANS’ VOICES served in the United States military or as a Madison County Historical Museum civil servant for the federal government? About Us: You may be able to request his/her individ- Continuing Exhibit The MCHS museum ual personnel record from the National complex, consisting of OLD, NEW, BORROWED AND BLUE: Archives and Records Administration in St. Wedding Traditions and Customs a modern archival Louis. Madison County Historical Museum library, a museum in Many of the Army and Air Force records the 1836 Weir House Program at the NARA depository in St. Louis were and the Helms Sunday, September 14, 2 pm damaged or destroyed in a fire on the 6th Collection Center, is VETS AND FEDS IN THE FAMILY TREE floor of the depository in 1973. Restoration owned by the Madison County Archival Library of these materials continues to this day and nonprofit Madison records from other branches of service were County Historical Events not damaged in the fire. Society and operated jointly with Madison Sunday, November 2 Join us on Sunday, September 14 at 2 County. 2014 DINING IN HISTORY EVENT pm at the Archival Library as NARA archi- National Great Rivers Museum vists Theresa Fitzgerald and Ashley Mattingly explain which records are availa- ble, what can be found within personnel The Madison County VETERANS’ VOICES Historical Society is a November 9 and 16 records and how to request them. 501(c)(3) charitable Historical Museum and Archival Library This program is free and open to the organization. public. 1 ABOUT US ARCHIVAL LIBRARY SPOTLIGHT

By Mary Westerhold, Archival Research Manager MCHS BOARD Gary Denue, Pres Have you ever wondered what our an- when six men were appointed as “overseers Russell Marti, Vice-Pres Arnold Meyer, Treas cestors did when they were “down on their of the poor in Madison County.” From that Donna Bardon, Sec luck”? What happened to mothers with small time until the first permanent buildings were Miriam Burns children when their husbands died leaving built on the property at South Main Street in Norma Glazebrook them with no income and no way to earn Edwardsville, the care of the poor was in the Mae Grapperhaus one? And hands of individ- Murray Harbke where did the uals who were Candace Ladd elderly go when then reimbursed Jean Miller they could no for their expens- Jeff Pauk longer care for es from the cof- Cindy Reinhardt themselves and fers of the coun- Marilyn Sulc they had no one ty. Sue Wolf to care for By the early them? Even 1860s, the first STAFF workers who buildings were

Suzanne Dietrich lived alone and completed on Director were injured in the Poor Farm

Mary Westerhold the coal mines property. The Archival Research Mgr. or on the rail- property was a

LaVerne Bloemker road and need- Postcard view of the Madison County Poor Farm working farm Archival Research Asst. ed assistance and residents

Carol Frisse were without anyone to care for them. Many were expected to work on the farm if their Archival Research Asst. of these people would be found at the physical condition permitted it. As time went

Jenn Walta County Poor Farm. on, additional buildings were added until the Curator The first mention of care for the poor of complex included the superintendent’s resi- Madison County is during the first court ses- dence, the residents building, an insane sion held in the county on April 6, 1813, Continued on page 4 VOLUNTEERS There are abundant and varied opportunities for MUSEUM SPOTLIGHT volunteers at either the By Jenn Walta, Curator museum or the archival library. Please call if Recently an animated film de- temperatures well below freezing to interested. picted a group of men (and one gather “frozen gold.” After identifying small boy and reindeer) harvesting areas where the ice was at least 12 MEMBERSHIPS ice over a body of water. The char- inches thick, they used shovels to clear Several membership acters in Disney’s Frozen sang of the snow and debris from the ice “fields.” levels are available to dangers and wonders of ice while The areas were then measured and those interested in working in the frigid environment. marked into squares. Workers employed supporting the work of While I am unsure if the men who a horse-drawn marker (also referred to preserving Madison harvested ice on the Mississippi as a horse-drawn ice plow) to complete County history through an sang while they worked, ice har- the full line which was later grooved and MCHS membership. vesting on rivers, ponds, and lakes, sawed. Memberships run on the was a necessity in a time prior to the The first rows of blocks were sawn calendar year, Jan 1-Dec commonality of electric and gas 31. Applications are out by hand using an ice saw like the one available on our web site, refrigeration. in the museum’s collection to make a at the MCHS Museum or In cooler climates, it was con- channel. Workers then used axes, at the Archival Library. sidered relatively safe to store foods chisels, and pry bars to split blocks of ice in deep wells, frigid streams, or cold away from the rest of the ice field. The cellars for short periods of time. individual blocks were called “cakes.” PUBLICATIONS Warmer areas, however, depended The blocks were “busted” off and on the availability of ice for food MCHS NEWS flowed down the channel. Those chunks 6 issues annually storage. of ice eventually made their way to an ice Cindy Reinhardt, Editor The men harvesting the ice house (sometimes via an ice elevator) spent long hours working in where they were stored until needed. WEB SITE madcohistory.org The large ice saw shown here was owned and used on the Mississippi River by the late William Eberhardt (1891-1965) of Wood River. It was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Suessen in 1974.

2 RECENT NEWS Veterans’ Voices Red Cross, an important service in earlier conflicts when bandages were not mass produced. A new program aimed at collecting the stories and photographs of Madison County veterans, including The Madison County History Museum will have an those who have recently served, will begin in exhibit honoring the service of our Madison County November. The launch of the program will be Sunday, military men and women beginning in November. In November 9 and Sunday, November 16, when veterans conjunction with that exhibit, MCHS News will focus or current members of the military are invited to come on veterans for the November issue. Look for tell their stories. additional information in local newspapers, on our web site or on our Facebook page beginning in late October. The program offers a wonderful opportunity for  families to collect these stories for their personal records while also archiving the information with MCHS Exhibit Update MCHS for future generations. MCHS will prepare The Wedding exhibit in the museum will continue packets to guide veterans through the process of through the end of the year. If you saw the exhibit in documenting their service. These packets will be early June, you may want to make a return trip as available beginning November 2. If you are willing to additional materials were added to the display. also sit down for an oral history interview, please call The Kane exhibit ended in mid-August. Look for a the Archival Library to set up an appointment with a new exhibit on Madison County veterans in the coming volunteer. months. The museum is also interested in obtaining artifacts  reflecting military service, along with the personal stories of these men and women who have served our ISHS in Madison County country. Photographs of them in uniform or other On Saturday, August 16, the Illinois State documentation can be scanned by members of the Historical Society held their Annual Awards Reception Archival Library staff when family members do not in the Leclaire Room at the Historic N. O. Nelson wish to donate original images. of Lewis and Clark Community College in MCHS is also seeking the stories of women who Edwardsville. served on the home front, our local “Rosie the MCHS Director Suzanne Dietrich was instrumental Riveters” or those who worked with the American in bringing the event to our area. The awards reception had not previously been held in Madison County. MEMBERSHIP NEWS New and Renewing Bonus Time for New Members! This is the time of year when new members can receive a bonus of up Memberships to four extra months with their MCHS membership. For those who join July through August 2014 in in the Fall, membership privileges extend through December 2015. Thank You for Your Support! If you know of someone with an interest in local history who might be interested in joining the Madison County Historical Society, consider Alton, IL providing them with a gift membership, or ask us to send them an intro- Charlotte Johnson ductory letter regarding the Society’s work. Edwardsville, IL Membership in MCHS is a supportive membership. Members are invit- Irma August ed to attend programs and events they find interesting, but there are no Robert Mallory required membership meetings. Stoneham, MA Wondering when it’s time to renew your membership in MCHS? We Charles Dietrich make it easy. All member dues are renewable on the first of January.

3 MARY’S DINING IN HISTORY 2014 RESEARCH TIP I am always looking for by Cindy Reinhardt history as my great grandfather, William a new way to get past a At last year’s Dining in History event, Ritchie, was for many decades a lamp brick wall in research I am MCHS took guests to the historic 1909 lighter on the river, rowing north a few doing. That’s why I am Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville. For miles one day to fill the lamps on the constantly looking for edu- 2014, we’re hosting a “night at the muse- channel markers, then south the next day cational opportunities to um” as they say in the movies, or, to be to do the same. The family had their own help me. Local genealogy more accurate, an “evening” at the dock, Ritchie’s Landing, where steam- museum. societies often offer one day boats would pull over to get wood for the conferences with a national- We invite you to join us on Sunday, boilers. ly known keynote speaker. November 2, for our 2nd annual “Dining Ritchie’s Landing was long gone by I attended one recently and in History” event as we dine in the the time I came along, the ground pur- several times during the National Great Rivers Museum beside the chased by the government as part of the day I found myself think- Melvin Price Locks and Dam on the ing “I never thought of Savanna Army Depot. But we remained Mississippi River in Alton. Guests can that!” and jotting a quick connected with the river because my take a tour of the facility, browse the mu- note to remember a useful grandparents had a home on the river for seum, enjoy a meal of comfort food (as tip. many years. We often swam in the would have been typical along the river), Mississippi, and the family enjoyed out- I seldom miss a nation- and then sit back to enjoy a special pro- ings on sand bars, boating, and fishing, al conference if it is held in gram on river history. The historical part pastimes still enjoyed on the river today. the area, even if I can only of “Dining in History” this year is, of attend one day of a three or course, the mighty Mississippi River We also marveled at the power of the four day conference. I also which has played a major role in the de- Mississippi River in flood stage when riv- try to attend several of the er traffic came to a halt and the water monthly meetings of local velopment of this region for hundreds of threatened our town whose Main Street genealogy societies even years. paralleled the river. So although I didn’t though my ancestors were If you have lived in Madison County move to Madison County until 1975, my not from the area where I for any length of time, even if not directly experiences along the river were very sim- live. on the river, it has likely had an impact ilar to proud “river rats” everywhere. In addition, there are on your life. I wasn’t born in Madison many ways to learn from County, but I grew up in a river town, Please join us for an evening along the your home. Check out the Savanna, a small town in northwestern Mississippi River as we celebrate the his- web sites of local, state, and Illinois. The river was part of our family tory and grandeur of Madison County’s national genealogical socie- most prominent landmark. ties along with those of na- tionally known speakers. Frequently the sites offer MADISON COUNTY POOR FARM (CONT FROM PAGE 2) links to free blogs on specif- department, a blind department, a hospital, a The index will include the name, source ic topics. Don’t forget to surgery, a bake house, a laundry, and various and page number, date of birth or age, date check out your public li- outbuildings. admitted, date of death or discharge, and brary for books and classes While all of the buildings are gone, some place of burial. Sometimes there are addi- they might offer. of the records remain. At the Archival Library, tional comments and when that existed in the books, we merely note “See Comments.” If you have hit a brick we have the known existing records of the Madison County Poor Farm beginning in 1880 The amount of information varies consid- wall in your research or just until the last admission date of May 26, 1958. erably, with the earliest records containing the can’t quite find that elusive Several volunteers and staff members least information while the later records may ancestor, change your re- have been working to compile an index of include information on the resident, their search approach to one of these records so they are useful to family parents, children, and siblings. While not learning instead of search- history researchers. The records were every record will provide the missing in- ing. The answer to your maintained by date. Several books exist formation a family historian may be seeking, problem is out there, and covering various years. Since there is no hopefully it will help locate someone who may someone is willing to overall index, finding a name requires going have been lost from the records. share it. through every page in the book. 4 5 EARLY RIVER ALTON HISTORY The Mississippi was a end of the American Bottoms. major thoroughfare for Travelers would continue across the for thousands of years peninsula between the Mississippi before Europeans en- River and the River, now tered the Americas. Na- called Missouri Point, and ride Halls tive Americans named it Ferry across the Missouri River. the “Father of Waters” Easton competed with George and like all rivers, big Smeltzer, who operated a ferry be- and small, it was the pri- tween Hop Hollow, present day mary highway of its day. Godfrey, Illinois, and Brick House It also defined bounda- Slough, near West Alton, Missouri. The Altonian ferry circa 1894. (Photo courtesy of ries between often hostile (Smeltzer is said to have buried his fortune in Hop Hollow, a legend that Don Huber) nations as well as being a survives to this day.) major source of food. ter on America’s Western frontier. For the next fifty years the steam- The natives also Although some chose the three-month boat era would define Alton’s place as journey from New Orleans to St. Louis, knew the intricacies of a significant port and commercial cen- for most settlers the primary mode of the ever changing river transport toward the western frontier and knew that the river was still by horseback or on foot which was very shallow in some required a method of crossing the spots and thus easy to Mississippi River. Ferry operators cross. The site of present reaped large profits from the tolls they day Portage des Sioux extracted and naturally enjoyed a was one such spot and monopoly on river crossing until the Native American guides Eads Bridge was built in 1873. leading early Americans Rufus Easton platted Alton, named westward regularly after his son, Alton Easton, in 1818 steered the settlers across around a small creek called Fountain the river at that ford. Creek or Little Piasa Creek. His ferry The name comes from was to be located near the mouth of the Sioux nation’s under- the creek which was about a mile standing that when de- above the mouth of the Missouri River. One year prior, on August 2, 1817, the scending the Mississippi first steam powered boat, the Zebulon River to the Missouri Pike, arrived in St. Louis from New River much time could Orleans. Although the boat was poorly be saved by carrying powered and battled the strong cur- their canoes across the rent, it signaled the beginning of flatland between the two booming population and commercial rivers. Portage de Sioux growth along the river. Alton was now was the location chosen right on the main commercial byway to in 1815, when William the frontier and one mile above the Clark, August Choteau mouth of the Missouri River and its and Ninian Edwards This 1934 U. S. Geological Survey Map shows the vast watershed. As the volume of river traffic grew, so did Alton. negotiated a Peace City of Alton and surrounding areas. Note Hop Hol- low at the upper left corner in Illinois and the Mis- Alton’s growth and settlement was Treaty between the souri River as it nears the confluence of the two riv- stunted at the beginning by something United States and the ers. Across the river from Alton is Ellis Island, previ- Indians who had fought ously known as Sunflower Island or Smallpox Island. Madison County is now famous for na- with the British in the Soon after this map was made, the lock and dam tionwide: litigation. Easton was sued War of 1812. was constructed, raising the level of the river and by Nathaniel Pope and Ninian Edwards flooding the island.

6 AND THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER FREDERICK OAKES who claimed he could not show clear SYLVESTER title to the land. Charles Hunter had The Mississippi has purchased acreage east of Easton’s been the subject of many platted town where Hunterstown was authors and artists from developed while the court cases stagnated. A settlement was finally Mark Twain to today’s arranged in 1828 and Alton’s photographers. One of population began to grow rapidly. The the truly great painters growth was spurred by the wave of and poets inspired by the homesteaders moving west but also by Mississippi River was the coming of more powerful Frederick Oakes steamboats, such as the Maid of New Sylvester. Orleans and the Cincinnati, which Sylvester was could make the upriver trip from New Orleans in 12 days instead of three born in Massachusetts in months. The steamboats brought tons 1869 and studied at the of manufactured goods to the area but Massachusetts Normal River stages for several Alton floods are painted on Art School. He taught also brought people, immigrants enter- the corner of Johnston Hardware, corner of State and ing the United States from the Port of West Broadway in Alton. The Flood of 1844 is the in Massachusetts and New Orleans or now traveling upriver highest mark, followed by 1848, 1943, 1944 and later in New Orleans be- 1951, the year the photo was taken. Since then there from the mouth of the Ohio. have been several floods worse than in 1844, most fore moving to St. Louis German immigration exploded in notably in 1993. (Photo courtesy of Don Huber) in 1883. While in St. Alton and St. Louis in the late 1830s Louis he taught at St. Alton. The first was the Flood of 1844. and through the 1840s, providing labor Louis Central High The river had flooded before at Alton for newly established businesses such School and later at The but not since the New Madrid Earth- as William Manning’s Steam Flour Mill, quake of 1811 had nature wrought Principia School before established in Alton in 1831 and rapidly such havoc on the area. The Missouri moving to Elsah, a small followed by two other flour mills. and Mississippi Rivers became one river town located just Commerce in Alton quickly adapted across the Missouri Point and steam- below Grafton. to the river trade. Within a three- boats no longer followed the river Sylvester had a square block of Alton near the river, channel, they simply headed in a somewhat Impression- there were soon five hardware stores straight line for St. Louis. Businesses istic view of the river and three grocery wholesalers, many in Alton along the river closed, some and its environs and who concentrated their sales to the lost everything to the raging water. steamboat trade. When the water receded the brute painted prolifically, usu- force of nature was revealed as the ally with the river as his The 1840s brought two great theme. He once said the changes to the face of transportation in mouth of the Missouri River had moved downstream over two miles. Spread Eagle, one of Eagle Packet Company’s steamboats, was consid- ered “just a boat which goes to Alton and back again… to me it is a body of light and shad- ows and color.” Sylvester was also an accomplished poet, best known for “The In 1902 Frederick Oakes Sylvester, moved from St. Louis to Elsah, Illinois, where his work turned primarily to Great River” which was scenes like the one above showing the Mississippi and the river bluffs near Elsah. Painted in 1911-12, the central scene of the river is flanked by side panels of sycamore trees that form one continuous scene. This published in 1911 and painting can be seen in the Genealogy and Local History Room of the Hayner Public Library in Alton. Continued on page 12 7 ALTON

typical in times of war. The position of the rail terminating in Alton meant soldiers heading South to fight were routed through Alton by the thousands, as were the supplies and support materials that were necessary to fight a war. The river returned to its role as a dividing line between warring nations once again. Although Missouri never officially seceded from the Union, its status as a slave state under martial law meant constant vigilance against incursion across the river. The fact that several of the farms on the Missouri Point, just across the Ice harvesting on Mississippi River near Alton. (Courtesy of Don Huber) river from Alton, included slaves among their workers only The second event that would boiler explosions. The insurance heightened the anxiety, although keep Alton at the forefront of business grew with the surge in there were no such incidents. transportation on the Eastern side steamboat traffic. One area of Following the war, river trade of the river was the construction Alton became known as dominated until the completion of of the Alton and Sangamon “Insuranceville” because of the the Eads Bridge at St. Louis. Railroad that began in 1848. large number of companies in a Despite a deal brokered by a leg- Benjamin Godfrey and Simeon small area of Middletown. islator from Springfield that se- Ryder raised close to $200,000 by The Civil War brought a period cured the state capitol for subscription for the construction of prosperity to Alton that is Springfield instead of Alton, which that was to take the line to Springfield by 1852. The line eventually extended to Chicago but for the next few decades, Alton was the southern terminus of the rail line and the primary connection from Chicago to St. Louis went through Alton. The Alton - St. Louis Packet company was founded to transfer freight and passengers from Alton to St. Louis. Coal, discovered north of Alton in 1840, soon displaced cord wood as the primary fuel for local steamboats. The Golden Age of Steamboats had begun. The direct impact on Alton’s economy was obvious. Trade and population increased, and insurance and salvage operations became important businesses in Alton. The life span of a riverboat was extremely limited, due to One incarnation of the Spreading Eagle, a boat that was destroyed several times over the snags (sunken trees in the river), years but replaced with another of the same name. Photo is circa 1894. (Courtesy of Don shifting river sandbars, fires and Huber) 8 AND THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER was to become the railhead in Southern Illinois, Mr. Eads’ bridge moved that rail head to Illinois Town. Alton’s geography was not yet a problem, but that day would come. Alton’s river business continued to flourish throughout the late 19th century and Alton did as well. Several manufacturing plants opened, including Illinois Glass in 1873. Illinois Glass meant employment for thousands of German and Irish immigrants. The railroads expanded to serve these plants and move their products but some areas depended solely on the steamboats for their trade. Calhoun County is one of only three counties in Illinois never to have a rail line. As the Construction of the first lock and dam at Alton in 1935. (Courtesy of Don Huber) orchards and farms of that and upriver to Grafton, Elsah and Recreation on the river in- county became more and more Chautauqua continued until 1918. creased after the construction of productive, steamboats hauled Great changes in the river began to Lock and Dam 26. The resulting ninety percent of their goods to occur in the 1930s when the U.S. pool became known as Alton Lake, market. Army Corps of Engineers began a broad, flat haven for sailors and Alton had a number of boat their work on inland waters. The water skiers in the summer and companies that thrived during this Locks and Dam at Alton were duck hunters in the winter. time period, the Eagle Packet begun in 1933 and completed a Most readers have been alive Company probably the largest. few years later. Alton’s riverfront for the rest of this narrative. Alton Some boat captains emerged as was changed dramatically. Alton began to lose population in the leaders in the community. Captain residents rode the Illinois Terminal 1960s when subdivisions became W.P. LaMothe was a well-known Interurban Line south to St. Louis the rage and factories began to pilot, as were Captain John A. after 1906. move south and west. One factory Bruner and Captain Joseph Brown. After the Corps of Engineers or refinery seemed to close every Captain LaMothe settled across began maintaining the nine foot few years until our largest the river from Alton and had a town channel on the Upper Mississippi employers became a gambling named for him. Ironically, the River in 1936, heavy transportation boat and the school system. The town, LaMothe, Missouri, later shifted back to the river. Grain, interstate highways passed by in became West Alton, Missouri, at coal, scrap metal and petroleum the 1970s and 80s when our lo- the request of the Burlington products relied heavily on river cation on the bluffs and near the Railroad. Captain Joseph Brown transportation to cut costs. (One river put us a little off the conven- became mayor of Alton and later, barge holds the equivalent of 15 ient path. mayor of St. Louis. train cars or 60 trucks.) All of Alton’s newest growth industry As alternate forms of transpor- these industries save coal had th is tourism. The city’s waterfront tation developed in the 20 century operations in the Alton area. Large sports a new marina and enter- river traffic diminished. Regular quantities of limestone products tainment amphitheater. runs between Alton and St. Louis were also shipped from Alton. Continued on page 12 9 SUNFLOWER ISLAND AKA SMALLPOX ISLAND

By Donald J. Huber shore to escape Illinois law and reduce the number of This island, located about 90 feet off the Missouri witnesses. Lincoln, as the challenged party, was shore, was called by various names prior to the Civil allowed to choose the weapons for the duel. He War. At the time of the Lincoln-Shields duel, the island selected military sabers, known by members of the was most commonly called Sunflower Island for the U.S. Cavalry as “wrist breakers.” When Shields arrived large crop of volunteer sunflowers that thrived on the at the island, Lincoln was whacking at willow branches island. Following the construction of the Henry T. high above the ground. What an imposing figure he Rainey Lock & Dam 26 in the 1930s, the river level must have been. Lincoln, at 6’ 4” towered over behind the dam raised about 8 feet and inundated the Shields, who was barely 5’3” tall. At this point Shields island. During low water, tree stumps are still visible must have realized that the continued animosity was on the site.

There are two prominent stories about the island. The first and less ominous involved a duel between a future U.S. President and a prominent Union general in an activity that was totally illegal in Illinois at the time. Dueling was not only illegal, but a death caused during a duel was murder. The idea of two prominent citizens becoming involved in an act so daring and blatant is somewhat absurd, but it happened none the less. The cause of the duel may be even more absurd

Abraham Lincoln pointless as well as exceedingly dangerous and decided to settle the matter amicably.

General James Shields was known for his love of a joke, practical or otherwise, and seemed to find an in its petty nature. James Shields was offended by opportunity on this occasion to spring one on the letters published in a Springfield newspaper allegedly citizens of Alton. Upon leaving the island, Lincoln insulting his looks and honesty. The letters were reclined on the floor of one of the boats and was written by Mary Todd, Lincoln’s fiancé, and Julia covered in oil cloth. As the boats approached the Alton Jaynes, later to be Mrs. Lyman Trumball. Miss Jaynes, shore they encountered a large crowd of spectators a graduate of nearby Monitcello Seminary, was known awaiting news of the outcome of this notorious duel. for her stunning good looks and rapier like wit. Shields Since Lincoln was not visible in the boats rumors was not amused. began to spread that he was dead until he sprang from Since dueling was not a crime in Missouri, the two the floor of the boat, much to the relief of the crowd. combatants rowed to the island near the Missouri 10 SMALLPOX ISLAND (CONT)

The next day’s newspapers roundly criticized both ing following a week or two of physical hell. Lincoln and Shields for their participation in such an One such prisoner was Private Dewitt Clinton illegal activity. “Our city was the theatre of an unusual Thomas, a member of Willis’ Texas Battalion, who was scene of excitement during the last week from the visit captured at Tullahoma, Tennessee, in October of 1863 of two distinguished gentlemen of Springfield, who, it and arrived in Alton in November of the same year. was understood came here with a view of crossing the The winter was particularly cold that year and the pris- river to answer the requisitions of ‘the code of honor” oners routinely broke the ice from the water barrels by brutally attempting to assassinate one another in when they arrived each morning from the river. Early cold blood.” The newspaper went on to ask how they in January of 1864, Private Thomas began to feel ill should get away with it when someone of lesser means and soon was diagnosed with “the pox.” Since the and status would otherwise be “hurried to the county river was frozen over by this time, Thomas and his jail….as guilty offenders, and all who have been con- cerned in the late attempt at assassination (brought) to justice….” Imagine the uproar today if two of our legislators pulled guns on one another in public. A career ending exercise perhaps? The second event of sig- nificance that took place on the island was one that in- curred much more suffering and death and very little pleasantness. Smallpox be- came the scourge of the Alton Military Prison almost from the very beginning. The prison opened in February of 1862 and by August smallpox had ap- peared among the prisoners. The hospital conditions in the The long white building near the bottom of this photo is the Alton Civil War Prison. This image taken prison were poor at best and in 1861 does not show Smallpox Island which was located slightly north of the view in this photograph. totally inadequate for the (Courtesy of Donald Huber) facility. Quarantine and guards marched over the ice to the island, now dubbed inoculation were the preferred treatments of the day “Smallpox Island.” and since the prison was located in the mercantile area of Alton there was no proper space to open a quarantine Prisoners died around Private Thomas nightly. hospital in the surrounding area. Local residents were re- Each morning one or two bodies were removed from luctant to rent space to the military the hospital for burial. Sometimes bodies lay covered in a tent for a week or more until the ground thawed Following a period of local dissent about the con- sufficiently to bury them. Soldiers who died on the is- struction of a quarantine hospital, a site was located on land were not returned to shore for burial but were bur- Sunflower Island, across the Mississippi River near the ied in a cemetery established on the island. Missouri shore. Soldiers who exhibited signs of smallpox or other highly contagious diseases, like ru- Private Thomas stayed in the hospital for almost a bella, were rowed over to the island for isolation. For a month before he was deemed fit to return to the prison. time the patients were housed in tents erected on the He states that the sun had shone for about a week island, each with a small stove for heat. A wooden before he was to return to shore and when he walked hospital building was erected later and conditions im- the mile back to Illinois the ice had begun to turn to proved to the point that some prisoners were recover- Continued on page 12 11

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Continued from page 7 Sylvester SMALLPOX ISLAND (CONT FROM PAGE 11) can be found online. In slush and he was soaked by the time he During the time of its operation, from the poem, he expresses reached shore. The cold walk back to August 1863 to March of 1865, 268 his love of Elsah, saying the prison resulted in a second round of persons succumbed to the ravages of “Here is a glory of the illness that he concealed from his disease on Smallpox Island, 235 soldiers Elsah hills, That shall captors to avoid being returned to the and 33 civilians, including one Mrs. forever win my songs of hospital. After recovering from his Barbara Dunavant who had been praise…” second illness, Private Thomas was sent imprisoned for secreting mail across to Fort Delaware, on Pea Patch Island in rebel lines in her skirts. Paintings by Bay. There he was Most of the more deadly diseases, Sylvester are now highly exchanged and later returned home. that took the lives of prisoners and sought after in this area. The quarantine hospital operated guards alike, are now routinely treated In the collections of the until March of 1865 when high water by antibiotics. Those unfortunate souls Missouri Historical inundated the island and it had to be who died on the island are now Society in St. Louis is a evacuated. By that time the smallpox memorialized by the Corps of Engineers large Sylvester painting problem had been brought under control with a marker at the Lincoln Shields by regimented inoculation and better Recreation Area on the Missouri side of of the Eads Bridge. A care. In addition, there was only one the Mississippi River. favorite subject when he active case of smallpox in the prison. lived in St. Louis, Sylvester painted the Eads Bridge over 100 ALTON AND THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER (CONT FROM PAGE 9) times. Hayner Public Library in Alton also A magnificent bridge brightens Alton’s 1993. His interest in local and regional displays one of his works entrance and once again the river is history, especially in connection with the Alton’s focal point. The Mississippi is a Civil War prison in Alton, has led to in- in their Genealogy and major part of our past and it will continue volvement with several local organiza- Local History Room. A to be vital to our future. tions including the Alton Cemetery Board copy of that painting,  where he is serving his sixth term. He still admired a century was one of the founders of Alton later, is on page seven of Guest author Donald J. Huber is a life- Cemetery’s Vintage Voices where actors long resident of Alton who studied History this newsletter. represent “residents” of the historic ceme- and Political Science at SIUE. He has tery to tell their stories. been Alton Township Supervisor since 12