The original Piasa Bird was a petroglyph (a prehistoric carving, usually pictorial, gouged into a rock surface). According to legend, in the years long before the Europeans arrived in the Meeting of the Great Rivers area. The current version was put in place in 1998. The limestone rock quality on this site is unsuited for holding an image, and the painting must be regularly restored.
Read moreThe John M. Olin Nature Preserve
The Olin Nature Preserve was dedicated as an Illinois Nature Preserve in. It is one of the largest privately owned nature preserves in the state and harbors 374 native plant species and provides habitat to nearly 150 species of birds. Marked trails give the visitor splendid views of the Mississippi River from the hill prairie, and a view of the Mississippi flood plain.
Read moreLincoln Douglas Square
Lincoln Douglas Square commemorates the seventh and last debate held in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen A. Douglas Alton with a monument to this historic event.
Read moreKoenig House
The Alton Museum of History and Art maintains the Koenig House which was built in 1887 by a German American Engineer employed by the Illinois Glass Company. The house was designed by Lucas Pfeiffenberger who became a well known architect in the St. Louis area. The home was occupied by several generations of the original owner until it was given to the Museum.
Read moreJacoby Arts Center
The Jacoby Arts Center is housed in the renovated 1899 Jacoby furniture store on Broadway. Tthis three-story, 40,000-square-foot brick building was donated to the Madison County Arts Council by C. J. Jacoby and Co., Inc. and opened as an art center in 2004. In this facility you will find a sparkling art gallery, a dynamic educational facility, and an array of exquisite artisan crafts.
Read moreHaskell Playhouse
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 local architect, Lucas J. Pfeiffenberger, to design the playhouse. In 1889, at age nine, Lucy died of diphtheria. The playhouse has been retained in memory of Lucy J. Haskell.
Read moreBenjamin Godfrey Memorial Chapel
The Godfrey Memorial Chapel was built in 1854 and was originally located across the highway from its current location. The Illinois Department of Conservation reported in 1977 that "compared to other surviving Greek Revival churches in Illinois, the building certainly stands on its own. There is nothing like it in the state. It is one of Illinois' impressive Civil War structures.”
Read moreThe Elijah P. Lovejoy Memorial
This monument honors abolitionist newspaperman Elijah Parish Lovejoy who was killed trying to after trying to put out a fire at the warehouse where he was guarding a printing press after three others had been thrown in the Mississippi River by pro-slavery supporters. . The memorial centers on a 93-foot high granite column topped by a 17-foot high winged statue of Victory.
Read moreConfederate Memorial
In April of 2002, a memorial containing the names of the of the Confederate prisoners who died of smallpox was dedicated while in the Alton Federal Prison during the Civil War. The memorial is located across the Mississippi River at the Lincoln Shields Recreation Area.
Read moreAlton Federal Prison Site
A State marker designates the remnants of a portion of a cellblock of the Alton Federal Prison as the site of the First Illinois Prison, built in 1831. During the Civil War, the prison reopened as a military detention camp because of overcrowding in the two St. Louis prisons that housed Confederate prisoners of war. A smallpox epidemic in December, 1862 killed as many as 2,200 prisoners.
Read moreConfederate Cemetery and Memorial
Approximately 300 prisoners and Union soldiers who died of smallpox were buried on a nearby island (once called Sunflower Island and currently under water) where a quarantine was set up. Those who were not buried on the island were interred in a special plot in North Alton, known today as the Confederate Soldiers' Cemetery.
Read moreThe Clark Bridge
Often called the "Super Bridge," the Clark Bridge links Highways 367 and 67 in Missouri to Alton, Illinois. Design work on the new cable-stayed bridge was started in 1985, and construction began in 1990. The Clark Bridge was named after William Clark who, with Meriwether Lewis in 1804, commanded the two year 4,000 mile exploration of the Corps of Discovery.
Read moreAlton Museum of History and Art
The Alton Museum of History and Art is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the rich heritage of Alton’s past through a variety exhibits. including Robert Pershing Wadlow, the tallest man on record, the Pioneer Room, and local legend of the Piasa Bird. The Grace Monroe Classroom is used as an art gallery where fine art of diverse media by local and regional artists is on display.
Read moreWood River Museum & Visitors Center
Established in 1997 by the Wood River Heritage Council, the Wood River Museum & Visitor’s Center allows visitors to explore the town’s varied past. Exhibits in the museum highlight the early days of the town including the impact of Standard Oil on the community, the wild days of Benbow City, and life during the various eras of the town.
Read moreMelvin Price Locks and Dam
Every year, millions of tons of commodities pass through the Melvin Price Locks and Dam. The facility is located south of the majestic Clark Bridge near Alton, Illinois on the Upper Mississippi River at river mile 200.78, two miles downstream from the original Lock and Dam No. 26. The Locks and Dam help to control the flow of the Mississippi and enables barges to navigate the river.
Read moreLewis and Clark Confluence Tower
The Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower was built in commemoration of the historic 1804 to 1806 expedition by Lewis and Clark. The 180-foot tower has three viewing platforms at 50, 100, and 150 feet connecting the two towers with panoramic views of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and the St. Louis skyline.
Read moreCamp DuBois
In commemoration of the Bicentennial of the departure of the Corps of Discovery, the Wood River Heritage Council has constructed a replica of the camp near where the original Camp DuBois was located. Members of the Discovery Expedition of St. Charles quartered at Camp Dubois until their scheduled departure from St. Charles on May 23, 2004.
Read moreBethalto Historical Museum
The Bethalto Historical Museum is housed in the former Village Hall. This building was erected around 1873 and enlarged in 1885. Long the center of community activity it once housed the police, fire and water departments and later the public library. The city’s tiny one room jail can still be seen today. The Museum contains exhibits on Bethalto’s past including the role of its citizens in World Wars I and II. Other exhibits include the founding of the town, the annual Homecoming Celebration, and a recreated classroom from the past.
Read moreCamp River Dubois
Located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, just several miles south of the current mouth of the Wood River is Camp River Dubois. This site is designated as Site #1 on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and features the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center and a replica of the 1803-04 winter encampment.
Read more