History
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(This is just a short overview. Please also see articles under "Family Fun" in right menu on history...."September" on "Oour History Calendar and especially, "Trivia and Not so Trivial".....same section.)
Edwardsville is a much older community than Glen Carbon,....established as a land office center for the U. S. Government in 1814, four years before Illinois became a state, and considered only the third real city founded in the state, (behind Shawneetown and Cairo.)
It was named after Ninian Edwards, the Territorial Governor from 1809 until 1818. A great deal of Illinois' early history was made right here, and 5 of the first 6 governors of the state came from the area, including Mr. Edwards. His home in Edwardsville was on the present site of St. Boniface Church. A contemporary historic figure, Benjamin Stephenson, had a lovely home just down the street on Buchanan Street that still stands, and has been awesomely restored. Mr. Edwards' grandson founded A. G. Edwards in St. Louis, still a booming securities firm with nationwide influence.
The historically important Kickapoo Indian treaty was signed here, where the Kickapoo's ceded the north part of Illinois to the U. S. and other rich historical events dot Edwardsville's history, (see separate history section.) The "Land of Goshen"....the land of milk and honey, was the name given to this area, as we've described in our introduction.
When statehood was obtained, in 1818, Madison County was huge, stretching into what is now Wisconsin, and Edwardsville was named the County Seat. That status has continued until today, although Madison County is now only one of 102 counties in Illinois. But with a county population now approaching 280,000, that's an important function, bringing a great deal of political and economic activity to town, and contributing to uncommon downtown viability.While most of the early residents of Edwardsville were of English extraction, emigrating from Kentucky and other eastern states, the rural area came to be occupied by Germans, immigrating into the county directly from all parts of Germany. A prosperous countryside made Edwardsville an important trading town, with agricultural and legal support of all kinds available. Horses and buggies crowded alongside main street on Saturdays for many decades in the 1800's, and early 1900's, with autos and trucks finally crowding them out. A street car traversed downtown streets! Our separate history section (under "Family Fun") provides an overview of this fascinating period, that included visits from Abraham Lincoln himself. See the picture of the cover of "Time", Feb, 1991, quoting from a speech he made in Edwardsville September 11, 1858.
Glen Carbon is a relative newcomer, established in 1892. It was at first, a coal mining town, hence the name, "Valley of Coal". Some of the pretty "salt box" mine houses still line main street. In the early part of the last century, it endured a rough and tumble reputation, as emigrants from most European states came to work in the mines. Obviously, that reputation is long gone as modern subdivisions match Edwardsville in quality and value, with Glen Carbon's average home value even exceeding that of Edwardsville. (That because it hosts a lot of new construction, with averages only mildly diluted with older housing.) Glen Carbon's residents also have a slightly higher average income....both as we've stated the highest in downstate Illinois.