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The earliest known inhabitants of the American Bottoms were the Cahokia Indians & Mound Builders who are most prominently recognized for their high knolls constructed above the plains of present day Cahokia, Illinois. Following the mysterious disappearance of this magnificent tribe’s civilization the area would later become home to more than 23 tribes, including the Illini (or Illiniwek), Blackfoot, Delaware and Cherokee Indians. It was during this era that the French explorers Marquette and Joliet discovered the area in search of a water route to the Pacific Ocean.
In the mid 1700s, still before the birth of the current form of the United States Government, the American Bottoms were beginning to be settled by Europeans from the East. The French were the first to make settlements in the area, on Choteau Island, on which they bred horses, shipping them to New Orleans on flat boats. In 1770, what is known as the first great flood washed these settlements off the face of the earth.
In 1783, Revolutionary War troupes of George Rogers Clark began to settle in this area due to the fertile land and beauty of the American Bottoms. Also this year, the American Bottoms officially became U.S. territory. Seven years later, in 1790, a man named James Gillham from Kentucky traveled to this area in pursuit of the Kickapoo Indians, who had kidnapped his family. James’ brothers came to Goshen (present-day Edwardsville/Glen-Carbon area) to assist in the pursuit. Nine years after capture, Gillham’s wife, Ann and son Samuel finally escaped from the Kickapoo. The Gillham family would go on to establish the first ‘white’ settlement in the area that is now the intersection of Hwy. 203 & I-270.
The next 50 years saw a great deal of movement into the area. The following is a timeline of those events.
Beginning in the year 1850 A.D., the City of St. Louis and the surrounding area experienced an influx of migrants from Germany, which was the beginning of the era known as the Great German Migration Period of St. Louis. During the beginning of this period, Frederick and Mary Niedringhaus came to St. Louis, bringing four of their eight children with them, including their sons, Frederick and William.
This period in the history of Granite City and St. Louis was also a great time of industrial development, as the railroads moved into town, transforming the area into a bustling city seemingly overnight. The first railroad came to Six Mile, as it was then called, in 1854. It was an extension of the Terra Haute and Alton Railroad. The railroad would end at the Mississippi, where the train cars would cross into St. Louis by ferry.
In 1856, the area known as ‘Six Mile,’ would be changed to ‘Kinder.’ Also during this same year, two of the Niedringhaus brothers, William F. and Frederick G., would start a business in St. Louis. Before long, as the Niedringhaus’ business would begin to grow, and as the industrial economy in Kinder would continue to expand, the paths of the two would cross, changing them both forever.
In 1896 A.D., Granite City was officially incorporated as a City within Madison County, Illinois. Shortly thereafter, the City hired its first policeman, Henry Fossiek, and began construction on its first brick school house, which was to be named Emerson School. The following year, the school would officially open, and the School Board of Directors would be appointed by the Mayor. As the City’s population rapidly expanded, the need for a second school arose; and so in 1899 Washington School was opened, just two years after the opening of Emerson.
As the City grew, so too did the Niedringhaus’ company. Known at that time as the St. Louis Stamping Company, the Brothers decided to change the name to the National Enameling & Stamping Company so as to appeal to a more national audience as they had become a national and even multi-national company. Attracted by the promise of plentiful jobs, hoards of immigrants from Central-Eastern Europe, primarily Bulgaria, Macedonia and Hungary, thronged into the City in search of good jobs with decent wages. The vast majority of these immigrants settled into housing to the West of the downtown area in a place that would come to be known as ‘Hungary Hollow.’
While everything seemed to be humming along smoothly, it was not long until the area had a taste of its first economic depression, the Depression of 1907. It was at this time that Hungary Hollow was given the nickname, ‘Hungry Hollow,’ because so many of its inhabitants would go without food for long periods, while some would even starve to death. The following year, one of the founding fathers of the City and of NESCO, William Niedringhaus, would die, leading to the beginning of a new era in both the company and the City’s future.
Diversification of industry and development became a key focus during the era leading up to and including the first years of the new millennium, and the second century of Granite City’s existence. Indeed, the next 50+ years would be a period of transition and, at times, turmoil. This time of transition is not one that was begun willingly, but was the result of a change in the industrial structure of the town’s economy, since the City’s founder, the National Enameling and Stamping Company, closed its doors for the last time in 1956. Two years later, in 1958, another long-standing element of the City’s infrastructure would change when Illinois Traction, a streetcar system which had transported workers and sightseers alike back and forth between Granite City and St. Louis and Alton would run for the last time. Although nearly 50 years have passed since the cessation of this system, the old streetcar tracks can still be found in the roads of some of the older parts of town.
Transition, however, was not all bad for Granite City in the beginning and is even less so for the City today. In fact, it was in 1959 that the City took a huge leap forward when the City sponsored a request to the Illinois State Legislature to create a Regional Port District covering the western half of Madison County. The Act creating said Port District was adopted by the legislature and signed into law by the governor of Illinois in July, 1959. Also, that same year, the City was awarded the distinguished honor of being selected as an “All-American City.”
Many changes would occur over this period, including a major shift in the city’s population, as many people moved from the Southwest side of town to the Northeast, away from the mills. Others would move even further to the east, to a relatively young village named Pontoon Beach. As the City approached, and then surpassed its 75th and then 100th Jubilee anniversary, it would undergo many transformations, as it prepared to face a new millennium.
Learn more about this city
City of GRANITE, IL official site
City of GRANITE, IL general information
City of GRANITE, IL yellow pages
County of MADISON, IL official site