East St. Louis

The history of East St. Louis, nineteenth century America's gateway to the west, encompasses both the strength of the American experiment and the devastation of its failures.

The city grew from a small ferry crossing into one of the largest railroad terminals in the U.S. Its industrial power and importance as the central terminal for goods crossing the Mississippi made it a vibrant commercial city. However, with industrial growth came corruption and development continued at the cost of those without power. The railroad came to dominate the city, but at a price, as its iron and wood latticework destroyed the original urban living space. It even laid tracks through the neighborhoods where its workers lived. With the decline of rail transportation the Illinois banks of the Mississippi were strewn with rusted track and empty rail yards. Now the city strives to rebuild from racial prejudice, urban neglect, and living in the shadow of St. Louis.

This RiverWeb landing site contains only a small part of the East St. Louis story. Here you can catch a glimpse of the area in the early part of the 19th century and learn about earlier people and events as they happened in the place that is today East St. Louis.

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