Situated about 15 miles north of St. Louis, Missouri, is Alton, Illinois, a river town of about 30,000 residents. Alton is located at the confluence of three rivers: the Mississippi, the Illinois, and the Missouri.
Alton was home to one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and subsequently gained a form of notoriety as home to a Civil War prison from 1862 to 1865, during which it housed more than 11,000 Confederate prisoners. (The prison actually was opened as Illinois' first state penitentiary in the 1830s and later the area was turned into a park.)
A historic river town, Alton is home to period architecture, antiques, shops, and restaurants. The area is replete with history French settlers first stopped here in the 1600s.
Although its location makes it a beautiful place especially enjoyed by nature-lovers, Alton's rivers turned on it in 1993 when the Mississippi breached its banks in a 100-year flood. Flood waters submerged much of the area, and high-water marks still can be seen on some buildings in the area. Since the flood, Alton and its neighbors in Madison County have been redeveloping and rejuvenating. As a result, special events take place frequently.
