Alton, Illinois.
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Lincoln made frequent legal and political trips to Alton putting him in the heart of Alton history. For nearly twenty-five years before becoming president, Lincoln was a general practice attorney, representing clients in a . . .
(Notable Buildings • Notable Persons • Politics) Includes complete text, location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
Lincoln made frequent legal and political trips to Alton putting him in the heart of Alton history. For nearly twenty-five years before becoming president, Lincoln was a general practice attorney, representing clients in a . . . (Notable Buildings • Notable Persons • Politics) Includes complete text, location, directions, 2 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
The stately house down the block once housed the co-author of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free—honorable alike in what we give . . . 
This unique Queen Anne style playhouse was built in 1885 for five year old Lucy J. Haskell, daughter of Dr. William A. and Florence Hayner Haskell. It is believed Lucy's grandfather, John E. Hayner, commissioned prominent . . . 
Scott Bibb (1855-1909) was the plaintiff in the Alton School Case, a series of lawsuits that sought to retain Alton's desegregated schools, which had existed in Alton from 1872 to 1897, a short-lived outcome of the . . . 
Considered by many to be the first casualty of the Civil War, abolitionist editor and Presbyterian minister Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy was killed defending the freedom of the press. Editor of the St. Louis Observer, Lovejoy . . . 
Elijah Parish Lovejoy (Nov. 9, 1802 - Nov. 7, 1837) was a newspaper editor, social reformer, and Presbyterian minister whose death at the hands of an angry mob at Alton, Illinois, made him an enduring symbol of the fight for . . . 
[South side] Editor Alton Observer Albion, Me., Nov. 8. 1802. Alton, Ill., Nov. 7, 1837. A Martyr to Liberty "I have sworn eternal opposition to slavery, and by the blessing of God I will never turn back." [East side:] . . . 
Civil War Alton In spring, 1861, pro-Confederate militia in St. Louis, Missouri, threatened to capture the U.S. arsenal there. Union forces in Illinois commandeered the steamboat City of Alton, sailed south, and and at . . . 
More people died during the Civil War than during any other war in U.S. history. An estimated 200 Union soldiers are buried at the Alton Cemetery. More than three million fought in the Civil War. Two percent of the . . . 
The excavation of six Indian mounds during preparations for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition reminded St. Louisans that others had occupied Forest Park's land long before the city itself came into being.
The Palace of Fine Arts was the only major pavilion at the 1904 World's Fair designed as a permanent structure. In 1907, St. Louis passed a tax to create the municipally supported City Art Museum.
Forest Park's most controversial monument was the Confederate Memorial, unveiled in 1914. St. Louis had been torn apart by the Civil War, and many residents objected to a commemoration of the secessionist cause.
At times, Forest Park's land has been valued for needs other than recreation. Both the 1936 Oakland Express Highway (today's I-64) and the 1959 Forest Park Expressway brought high speed traffic through the park.
Each summer, the Heartland Disability Rights March and Rally passes through Forest Park. This rally—the largest of its kind in the nation—commemorates the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.
Citizens of St. Louis City and County created joint taxing districts for the support of the Art Museum, Zoo, and the Museum of Science in 1971. In the 1980s, voters created new tax districts for the Botanical Garden and History Museum.
The Missouri History Museum, originally built as the first national monument to Thomas Jefferson, engages visitors in the exciting history of St. Louis from its founding in 1764 up to the present day. Visitors of any age can . . . 
Since the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, Forest Park has been a St. Louis treasure and top tourist destination. Known as the crown jewel of the Midwest, 13 million people visit the the 1,300-acre park each year. The park . . . 
The Steinberg Memorial Skating Rink, built in 1957 was the result of the largest private donation made in the park up to that time. Today, Forest Park Forever established in 1986 raises private funds for park improvements.
In 1919, the Red Cross and the City Parks Department opened a vacation village for families who could not afford to leave town on vacation. The village offered tents, playgrounds, a mess hall, and a first aid station.
The Jefferson Memorial home of the Missouri Historical Society stands on the site of the main entrance of the 1904 World's Fair. Constructed with funds from the fair, the building was the nation's first monument to Thomas Jefferson.
