Granite City

History

The area was settled much earlier than Granite City's official founding. In the early 19th century, settlers began to farm the rich, fertile grounds to the east of St. Louis. Around 1801, the area had the establishment of Six Mile Settlement, a farming area that occupied the area of present-day Granite City, 6 miles (10 km) from St. Louis. Soon after, around 1806, the National Road was to be constructed through the area, but it was never completed. In 1856, the area known as Six Mile was changed to Kinder. The resulting product was enormously popular. The brothers opened the Granite Iron Rolling Mills in St. Louis to provide tin (imported from Wales) to its prospering kitchen supplies manufacturer. The imported tin had a $22 per ton tariff. Frederick ran for Congress in Missouri in 1888. During his one term in the 51st Congress, he successfully urged the passage of a new tariff of 50% of value on imported iron and tin. With the increased tariff, the U.S. steel industry (including their iron plant) took off. As they planned expansion of their Bessemer process steel works, they were blocked by the city of St. Louis, which did not want the expansion. Also, the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis planned to tax coal crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri. This land extended from the Mississippi River across the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad tracks for their new Granite City. With the help of the St. Louis city engineer, a street grid was laid out, with streets listed in alphabetic order plus numbered streets, and the only exception being Niedringhaus Avenue. The Niedringhaus family required that its employees live in the town. Houses were purchased with Niedringhaus mortgages. Unlike Pullman, however, they did not exert major control…

Geography

Granite City is located adjacent to the Chain of Rocks Canal on the Upper Mississippi River, bordering Horseshoe Lake on its southeastern side. The city sits in the American Bottom, a wide, flat, fertile plain. Although at risk during the Great Flood of 1993, the city never flooded and is protected by a series of levees along both the Mississippi River and Chain of Rocks Canal. Granite City is located within a few miles of three interstate highways and two corresponding loops. Interstate 270 passes through the northern edge of the city and Interstates 255, 70, 55, and 64 all pass just to the south and east of the city. Route 3 is a major thoroughfare along the western edge of the city and provides access to downtown St. Louis across the recently renovated McKinley Bridge. According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of , of which (or 6.81%) is covered by water. Granite City can be divided into seven areas: Downtown, East Granite, West Granite, North Granite, Nameoki Strip, Bellemore Area, and the Wilson Park area. Most retailers and dining facilities are located on the Nameoki Strip, surrounding Nameoki Road. The Wilson Park area is home to the recently renovated Coolidge Middle School, former Niedringhaus Elementary School, and Granite City High School, as well as the city's crown jewel, Wilson Park, which is sometimes called the "heart" of Granite City and is known for its nicely kept "turn-of-the-20th-century" homes. East Granite is less defined, but is mostly modern residential subdivisions, including St. Elizabeth and Holy Family Catholic Schools. East Granite is north of the blast furnace at US Steel. US Steel's complex was formerly known as the Granite City Steel Co. Downtown in the southwestern part of the city is home to much of the city's…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  34,354
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  33,840
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  28,112
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,592
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,882
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  21,297
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,122
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  20,026

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 2.84 — 2022-04-29
  1 km SSW of Peerless Park, Missouri
• M 2.57 — 2019-09-11
  6 km NNE of Bonne Terre, Missouri
• M 3.12 — 2017-07-01
  9 km SSE of Mulberry Grove, Illinois