Edwardsville

History

Edwardsville was incorporated in 1818. The first European-American settler was Thomas Kirkpatrick, who came in 1805, laid out a community, and served as the Justice of the Peace. He named the community after his friend Ninian Edwards, then territorial governor of Illinois. (Illinois did not become a state until 1818.) The Edwards Trace, a key trail in the settlement of Central Illinois, used Edwardsville as a northward launching point. In 1868 The Bank of Edwardsville was founded. It was purchased by Champaign, Illinois-based Busey Bank in 2019. In 1890, St. Louis industrialist N. O. Nelson chose a tract of land just south of Edwardsville to build plumbing factories. He also built a model workers' cooperative village called Leclaire. He offered workers fair wages with reasonable working hours and a share of the profits. He named the village in honor of the French economist Edme-Jean Leclaire. The village also provided educational and recreational opportunities and made it financially possible for anyone to own a home. Unlike company towns such as Pullman near Chicago, the welfare and quality of life for the workers and their families was a major concern. In 1934, the Village of Leclaire was incorporated into the City of Edwardsville. The area has a lake and park, baseball field, and the Edwardsville Children's Museum in the former N. O. Nelson memorial Leclaire schoolhouse. Several Nelson factory buildings were renovated and adapted for use as the historic N. O. Nelson Campus of Lewis and Clark Community College. The recognized Historic District has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Each year on the third Sunday in October, the Friends of Leclaire host the annual Leclaire Parkfest with food, live heritage music, historic displays & tours,…

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Edwardsville has an area of , of which (or 97%) is land and (or 3%) is water. In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Edwardsville have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of was recorded in July 2012. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May. Climate Zone 4A per the International Energy Conservation Code.

Race & ethnicity

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