Collinsville

History

Cahokia, the largest Pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico, was developed by the Mississippian culture and is located in what is now the westernmost part of Collinsville. At its peak about 1200 CE, Cahokia had a population of 20,000-30,000, more than any city in the present-day United States until after 1800. It includes Monks Mound, the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas, and more than 70 surviving smaller mounds. Monks Mound is larger at its base than the Great Pyramid of Giza. During the French colonial era of its Illinois Country, a group of French Catholic monks had a settlement on Monks Mound, after whom it was later named. They cultivated agriculture on the terraces of the mound. They traded with bands of the historic Illini, who had migrated into the area after the peak of the Mississippian culture. Collinsville was subsequently settled by the Cook family and by a group of German-American settlers who arrived by Conestoga wagon in 1812 from Pennsylvania. They founded Holy Cross Lutheran Church. They also had a hardware store, though they were mainly farmers. Within five or six years, a number of other settlers arrived and began to organize the legal work required to form a town on the site. These original settlers are all buried in the Cook Cemetery or the Old Lutheran Cemetery. Other early settlers are buried in the Old German Cemetery near Sugarloaf Road near Maryville. During World War I, a Collinsville mob, composed mostly of local coal miners, lynched a German immigrant, the only such wartime murder in the country. On April 5, 1918, the mob numbering up to 300 men took Robert Prager from his home and paraded him through the streets barefoot and wrapped in an American flag, forcing him to sing patriotic songs. Collinsville police interceded…

Geography

Collinsville is located mainly in southern Madison County approximately by air or by road east-northeast of downtown St Louis. Two portions of the city extend south into St. Clair County. Collinsville is bordered to the north by Maryville, to the west by Pontoon Beach and Fairmont City, and to the south by Caseyville. The 90W longitude line passes through Collinsville, west of the city center. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Collinsville has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.22%, are water. The city is drained to the northwest by Schoolhouse Branch and to the south by Canteen Creek, both of which flow west into the Mississippi River valley in the western part of the city.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,533
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  12,760
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,284
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  11,237
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,020
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,604
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  9,109
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  8,355

Largest nearby schools

• Edwardsville High School
  High · Edwardsville · 2,354 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Granite City High School
  High · Granite City · 1,805 students · 19:1 ratio
• Triad High School
  High · Troy · 1,205 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Collinsville Middle School
  Middle · Collinsville · 950 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• Liberty Middle School
  Middle · Edwardsville · 896 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Dorris Intermediate Sch
  Middle · Collinsville · 884 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Coolidge Junior High Sch
  Middle · Granite City · 871 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Grigsby Intermediate School
  Middle · Granite City · 829 students · 16.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.57 — 2024-09-19
  1 km S of Old Monroe, Missouri
• M 2.81 — 2024-03-28
  1 km NNE of Germantown, Illinois
• M 2.53 — 2024-03-05
  6 km ENE of Pinckneyville, Illinois
• M 3.07 — 2023-12-18
  5 km WNW of Waltonville, Illinois
• M 2.52 — 2022-05-17
  6 km NNW of Mount Vernon, Illinois
• M 2.84 — 2022-04-29
  1 km SSW of Peerless Park, Missouri