Dupo

History

In the Mississippian period, Dupo was the site of one of several multi-mound communities in the floodplain near Cahokia. These mounds remained standing at least as recently as 1915. The French village of Prairie du Pont was first settled around 1750 by townspeople moving out of Cahokia. It was located at a bridge over what is now known as Prairie du Pont Creek, on the trail from Cahokia to Kaskaskia, which was the first wagon road in Illinois. The settlement may have been motivated by Dupo being located 10–12 feet higher than Cahokia and thus being more protected from floods on the Mississippi River. The Sulpician mission established a mill near the bridge, which became the core of the town's development. The village elected a village council, or syndic, to maintain the fence around the common fields. Among the early inhabitants of Prairie du Pont was the noted gunsmith Philip Creamer, who settled in the area in 1805. At the instigation of the railroad, the name was shortened from Prairie du Pont to Dupo. This led to an oil boom in the town, in which oil wells were sunk in people's front yards. However, the oil boom was short-lived and the economy of the town returned to depending primarily on the rail yard. The crash was caused by a -long freight train breaking in half and the two halves then colliding. A tank car full of methyl isobutyl ketone caught fire.

Geography

Dupo is located in the American Bottom floodplain of the Mississippi River. According to the 2010 census, Dupo has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  35,153
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  33,162
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27,430
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  26,245
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  25,088
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  20,747
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  20,602
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  17,396

Largest nearby schools

• Belleville High School-West
  High · Belleville · 2,234 students · 17.2:1 ratio
• East St Louis Senior High School
  High · East Saint Louis · 1,299 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Cahokia High School
  High · Cahokia · 845 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Wirth/Parks Middle School
  Middle · Cahokia · 617 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Mason/Clark Middle Sch
  Middle · East Saint Louis · 615 students · 11.2:1 ratio
• Bluffview Elem School
  Elementary · Dupo · 511 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Millstadt Consolidated School
  Middle · Millstadt · 470 students · 15.2:1 ratio
• East St Louis-Lincoln Middle Sch
  Middle · East Saint Louis · 446 students · 8.9:1 ratio