126-673: East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois , United States. It is directly across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis, Missouri , and the Gateway Arch National Park . East St. Louis is in the Metro East region of Southern Illinois . Once a bustling industrial center, like many cities in the Rust Belt , East St. Louis was severely affected by the loss of jobs due to
252-675: A Quaker -led coalition that took control of the legislature, which later supported the American Revolution . Despite this, many of the German settlers were loyalists during the Revolution, possibly because they feared their royal land grants would be taken away by a new republican government, or because of loyalty to a British German monarchy who had provided the opportunity to live in a liberal society. The Germans, comprising Lutherans , Reformed , Mennonites , Amish , and other sects, developed
378-644: A Silent Parade , carrying signs and protesting the East St. Louis riots. The march was organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), W. E. B. Du Bois, and groups in Harlem . Women and children were dressed in white; the men were dressed in black. East St. Louis continued to have an economy based on industry. Through and after World War II, many workers could make decent livings. It
504-559: A Germanic language, and only in the last couple centuries the people of the Netherlands. Other Germanic language variants for "deutsch/deitsch/dutch" are: Dutch "Duits" and " Diets ", Yiddish "daytsh", Danish/Norwegian "tysk", or Swedish " tyska ." The Japanese "ドイツ" (/doitsu/) also derives from the aforementioned "Dutch" variations. The Studebaker brothers, forefathers of the wagon and automobile makers, arrived in Pennsylvania in 1736 from
630-422: A black man allegedly attacked a white man. After hearing of this, whites drove by black homes near 17th and Market and fired shots into several of them. When police came to investigate a gathering of a large group of local black residents, their car was mistaken for that of the attackers, and several in the crowd at 10th and Bond fired on the police, killing two detectives. The next morning, thousands of whites mobbed
756-482: A city that developed on the east side of the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri . It was always strongly influenced by actions of businessmen from St. Louis, who were initially French Creole fur traders with western trading networks. In the 19th century, industrialists from St. Louis put coal plants and other heavy industry on the east side of the river, developing East St. Louis. Coal from southern mines
882-550: A colony in Virginia called Germanna , located near modern-day Culpeper, Virginia . Virginia Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood , taking advantage of the headright system , had bought land in present-day Spotsylvania and encouraged German immigration by advertising in Germany for miners to move to Virginia and establish a mining industry in the colony. The name "Germanna", selected by Governor Alexander Spotswood , reflected both
1008-449: A favored destination. By 1900, the populations of the cities of Cleveland , Milwaukee , and Cincinnati were all more than 40% German American. Dubuque and Davenport, Iowa had even larger proportions, as did Omaha , Nebraska, where the proportion of German Americans was 57% in 1910. In many other cities of the Midwest , such as Fort Wayne, Indiana , German Americans were at least 30% of
1134-409: A formerly unidentified 900-year-old suburb of Cahokia in present-day East St. Louis. This site had not been mapped in the 19th century, and was unknown. The Mississippian culture site is in a present industrial wasteland. Researchers found evidence of more than 1,000 dwellings and the base of an earthen pyramidal mound. It would have been one of dozens of mounds when the community was active, based on
1260-554: A high of 90 °F (32 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 117 °F (47 °C) at East St. Louis, Illinois was recorded in July 1954. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 2.02 inches (51 mm) in January to 4.18 inches (106 mm) in May. St. Clair County is home to 11 St. Louis MetroLink stations on
1386-662: A large labor meeting of white workers held in City Hall on May 28, men also traded rumors of fraternizing between black men and white women. An inflammatory speaker said, "East St. Louis must remain a white man's town." Three thousand ethnic white men left the meeting and headed as a mob for downtown, where they randomly attacked black men on the street. The Illinois governor called in National Guard to prevent further rioting, but rumors circulated that blacks were planning an organized retaliation and tensions remained high. On July 1, 1917,
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#17330926024321512-546: A larger city, influenced by the growing economy of St. Louis, which in 1870 was the fourth-largest city in the United States. A period of extensive industrial growth followed the American Civil War . Industries in East St. Louis made use of the local availability of Illinois coal as fuel. Another early industry was meatpacking and stockyards , concentrated in one area to limit their nuisance to other jurisdictions. In
1638-553: A microcosm of the Germania nationwide. The Germans who settled Texas were diverse in many ways. They included peasant farmers and intellectuals; Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and atheists; Prussians, Saxons, and Hessians; abolitionists and slave owners; farmers and townsfolk; frugal, honest folk and ax murderers. They differed in dialect, customs, and physical features. A majority had been farmers in Germany, and most arrived seeking economic opportunities. A few dissident intellectuals fleeing
1764-513: A new city hall. Public-private partnerships have resulted in a variety of new retail developments, and housing initiatives. The St. Louis MetroLink light rail connects the city by transit to St. Louis, which has a stronger economy, and such efforts have sparked renewal. Because of depopulation, the city has many abandoned properties and extensive urban blight. Sections of " urban prairie " can be found where vacant buildings were demolished and whole blocks have become overgrown with vegetation. Much of
1890-487: A pickaxe against a background of three stripes alternating green, yellow, and green. According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 674 square miles (1,750 km ), of which 658 square miles (1,700 km ) is land and 16 square miles (41 km ) (2.4%) is water. In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Belleville have ranged from a low of 22 °F (−6 °C) in January to
2016-592: A rich religious life with a strong musical culture. Collectively, they came to be known as the Pennsylvania Dutch (from Deutsch ). Etymologically, the word Dutch originates from the Old High German word "diutisc" (from "diot" "people"), referring to the Germanic "language of the people" as opposed to Latin, the language of the learned (see also theodiscus ). Eventually the word came to refer to people who speak
2142-607: A slave). The most famous of the early German Palatine immigrants was editor John Peter Zenger , who led the fight in colonial New York City for freedom of the press in America. A later immigrant, John Jacob Astor , who came from Walldorf , Electoral Palatinate , since 1803 Baden , after the Revolutionary War, became the richest man in America from his fur trading empire and real estate investments in New York. John Law organized
2268-461: A white man, and whites began to attack blacks on the street. The governor ordered in the National Guard and peace seemed restored by early June. "On July 1, a white man in a Ford shot into black homes. Armed African-Americans gathered in the area and shot into another oncoming Ford, killing two men who turned out to be police officers investigating the shooting." Word spread and whites gathered at
2394-1113: Is home to one of the group's original settlements, the Germantown section of present-day Philadelphia , founded in 1683. Germantown is also the birthplace of the American antislavery movement , which emerged there in 1688. Germantown also was the location of the Battle of Germantown , an American Revolutionary War battle fought between the British Army , led by William Howe , and the Continental Army , led by George Washington , on October 4, 1777. German Americans were drawn to colonial-era British America by its abundant land and religious freedom, and were pushed out of Germany by shortages of land and religious or political oppression . Many arrived seeking religious or political freedom , others for economic opportunities greater than those in Europe, and others for
2520-463: Is located on a bluff along the Mississippi River. This area is being developed with suburban housing, particularly in Belleville , and its satellite cities . The eastern and southern portion of the county is sparsely populated. The older small communities and small tracts of newer suburban villages are located between large areas of land devoted to corn and soybean fields, the major commodity crops of
2646-656: Is the ninth most populous county in Illinois . Located directly east of St. Louis , the county is part of the Metro East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in southern Illinois . As of the 2020 United States census , St. Clair County had a population of 257,400, making it the third most populous county in Illinois outside the Chicago metropolitan area . Belleville is the county’s seat and largest city. Cahokia Village
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#17330926024322772-775: The Alsatian region who had recently fallen under French rule, and the Swiss to immigrate. Alsace was sold to France within the greater context of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). The Jesuit Charlevoix traveled New France (Canada and Louisiana) in the early 1700s. His letter said "these 9,000 Germans, who were raised in the Palatinate (Alsace part of France) were in Arkansas. The Germans left Arkansas en masse. They went to New Orleans and demanded passage to Europe. The Mississippi Company gave
2898-534: The Aluminum Ore Company , the employer hired blacks as strikebreakers. The American Steel Company also recruited blacks. They were available in part during this period because the U.S. Army initially rejected many black volunteers in the years before an integrated military. This was also the period of resentment on both sides and the arrival of new workers created fears for job security at a time of union organizing and labor unrest, and raised social tensions. At
3024-608: The Blue Ridge Mountains , where Palatine German predominated. Meanwhile, in Southwest Virginia , Virginia German acquired a Swabian German accent. In North Carolina , an expedition of German Moravians living around Bethlehem, Pennsylvania , and a party from Europe led by August Gottlieb Spangenberg , headed down the Great Wagon Road and purchased 98,985 acres (400.58 km ) from Lord Granville (one of
3150-510: The Casino Queen riverboat casino generated the first new source of income for the city in nearly 30 years. In 1991, Gordon Bush was elected mayor. Several major industries operating in the area had gained separate incorporation as jurisdictions for the land where their plants are sited. These "communities" have virtually no residents, and the shell jurisdictions are outside the tax base of East St. Louis (See: Sauget, Illinois ). Residents of
3276-601: The Eads Bridge to St. Louis, seeking refuge, until the police closed it off. The official death toll was 39 blacks and nine whites, but some historians believe more blacks were killed. Because the riots were racial terrorism, the Equal Justice Initiative has included these deaths among the lynchings of African Americans in the state of Illinois in its 2017 3rd edition of its report, Lynching in America . The riots had disrupted East St. Louis, which had seemed to be on
3402-642: The Frankfurter Wachensturm beginning in the 1830s—predominantly in Texas and Missouri, but also in other U.S. states—in which German intellectuals ( freethinkers , German: Freidenker , and Latinists ) met together to devote themselves to the German literature , philosophy , science, classical music, and the Latin language . A prominent representative of this generation of immigrants was Gustav Koerner who lived most of
3528-492: The Poplar Street Bridge and Stan Musial Bridge . Prior to its decommissioning, the fabled U.S. Route 66 also shared a concurrency with these Interstate highways. In addition, U.S. Route 50 also shared a concurrency prior to its being rerouted to run concurrently with Interstate 255 . The closest airport is the St. Louis Downtown Airport located in nearby Cahokia, Illinois , just south of East St. Louis. As of
3654-559: The Red and Blue Lines. St. Clair County is also served by Metrobus and Madison County Transit . In the 2020 United States Census the racial makeup of the county was 59.6% White, 29.7% black or African American, 1.4% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 2.1% from other races, and 6.8% from two or more races. 4.9% were of Hispanic or Latino origin. As of the 2010 United States Census , there were 270,056 people, 105,045 households, and 70,689 families residing in
3780-685: The United States Census Bureau placed the mean center of U.S. population in St. Clair County. This area was occupied for thousands of years by cultures of indigenous peoples. The first modern explorers and colonists of the area were French and French Canadians, founding a mission settlement in 1697 now known as Cahokia Village . After Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War in 1763 and absorbed its territory in North America east of
3906-618: The United States Census Bureau 's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the population. This represents a decrease from the 2012 census where 50.7 million Americans identified as German. The census is conducted in a way that allows this total number to be broken down in two categories. In the 2020 census, roughly two thirds of those who identify as German also identified as having another ancestry, while one third identified as German alone. German Americans account for about one third of
East St. Louis, Illinois - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-706: The War of 1812 . In 1709, Protestant Germans from the Pfalz or Palatine region of Germany escaped conditions of poverty, traveling first to Rotterdam and then to London. Queen Anne helped them get to the American colonies. The trip was long and difficult to survive because of the poor quality of food and water aboard ships and the infectious disease typhus . Many immigrants, particularly children, died before reaching America in June 1710. The Palatine immigration of about 2100 people who survived
4158-544: The census of 2000, there were 31,542 people, 11,178 households, and 7,668 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,242.9 inhabitants per square mile (866.0/km). There were 12,899 housing units at an average density of 917.2 per square mile (354.1/km). The racial makeup of the city was 97.74% Black or African-American , 1.23% White , 0.19% Native American , 0.08% Asian-American , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 0.19% from other races , and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.73% of
4284-639: The 1848 revolutions sought political freedom, but few, save perhaps the Wends, went for religious freedom. The German settlements in Texas reflected their diversity. Even in the confined area of the Hill Country, each valley offered a different kind of German. The Llano valley had stern, teetotaling German Methodists, who renounced dancing and fraternal organizations; the Pedernales valley had fun-loving, hardworking Lutherans and Catholics who enjoyed drinking and dancing; and
4410-665: The 19th century, German immigrants settled in Midwest, where land was available. Cities along the Great Lakes, the Ohio River, and the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers attracted a large German element. The Midwestern cities of Milwaukee , Cincinnati , St. Louis , Chicago were favored destinations of German immigrants. The Northern Kentucky and Louisville area along the Ohio River was also
4536-608: The 19th century, pressure increased from the Russian government to culturally assimilate. Many Germans from Russia found it necessary to emigrate to avoid conscription and preserve their culture. About 100,000 immigrated by 1900, settling primarily in the Great Plains . Negatively influenced by the violation of their rights and cultural persecution by the Tsar , the Germans from Russia who settled in
4662-515: The 2010 census, East St. Louis has a total area of 14.37 square miles (37.22 km), of which 13.99 square miles (36.23 km), or 97.36%, is land and 0.38 square miles (0.98 km), or 2.64%, is water. East St. Louis, like all of Southern Illinois, is classified as humid subtropical by the Köppen classification , having hot, humid summers and cool winters. On July 14, 1954, the temperature in East St. Louis allegedly reached 117 °F (47 °C),
4788-612: The 21st century. Few German immigrants settled in the Deep South , apart from New Orleans , the German Coast , and Texas. Texas attracted many Germans who entered through Galveston and Indianola , both those who came to farm, and later immigrants who more rapidly took industrial jobs in cities such as Houston. As in Milwaukee , Germans in Houston built the brewing industry. By the 1920s,
4914-472: The African-American population in East St. Louis had doubled. Whites were generally hired first and given higher–paying jobs, but there were still opportunities for American blacks. If hired as strikebreakers, they were resented by white workers, and both groups competed for jobs and limited housing in East St. Louis. The city had not been able to keep up with the rapid growth of population. The United States
5040-673: The British Lords Proprietor) in the Piedmont of North Carolina in 1753. The tract was dubbed Wachau-die-Aue , Latinized Wachovia , because the streams and meadows reminded Moravian settlers of the Wachau valley in Austria . They established German settlements on that tract, especially in the area around what is now Winston-Salem . They also founded the transitional settlement of Bethabara, North Carolina , translated as House of Passage,
5166-784: The Burnetsfield Patent. By 1750, the Germans occupied a strip some 12 miles (19 km) long along both sides of the Mohawk River . The soil was excellent; some 500 houses were built, mostly of stone, and the region prospered in spite of Indian raids. Herkimer was the best-known of the German settlements in a region long known as the "German Flats". They kept to themselves, married their own, spoke German, attended Lutheran churches, and retained their own customs and foods. They emphasized farm ownership. Some mastered English to become conversant with local legal and business opportunities. They tolerated slavery (although few were rich enough to own
East St. Louis, Illinois - Misplaced Pages Continue
5292-574: The East St. Louis race riot resulted in the deaths of 39 blacks and 9 whites, other estimates put the figure much higher, with estimates of 100 to 250 blacks being killed. W. E. B. Du Bois of the NAACP came to investigate the riots personally. His organization's photographer published photos of the destruction in the November issue of The Crisis . Congress also held an investigation. In New York City on July 28, 10,000 black people marched down Fifth Avenue in
5418-663: The German immigrants who sailed across the Atlantic to Virginia and the British queen, Anne , who was in power at the time of the first settlement at Germanna. In 1721, twelve German families departed Germanna to found Germantown . They were swiftly replaced by 70 new German arrivals from the Palatinate , the start of a westward and southward trend of German migration and settlement across the Virginia Piedmont and Shenandoah Valley around
5544-402: The German states , a wave of political refugees fled to America, who became known as Forty-Eighters . They included professionals, journalists, and politicians. Prominent Forty-Eighters included Carl Schurz and Henry Villard . "Latin farmer" or Latin Settlement is the designation of several settlements founded by some of the Dreissiger and other refugees from Europe after rebellions like
5670-446: The Germans rich lands on the right bank of the Mississippi River about 25 miles (40 km) above New Orleans. The area is now known as 'the German Coast '." A thriving population of Germans lived upriver from New Orleans , Louisiana, known as the German Coast . They were attracted to the area through pamphlets such as J. Hanno Deiler's "Louisiana: A Home for German Settlers". Two waves of German colonists in 1714 and 1717 founded
5796-411: The Guadalupe valley had freethinking Germans descended from intellectual political refugees. The scattered German ethnic islands were also diverse. These small enclaves included Lindsay in Cooke County, largely Westphalian Catholic; Waka in Ochiltree County, Midwestern Mennonite; Hurnville in Clay County, Russian German Baptist; and Lockett in Wilbarger County, Wendish Lutheran. Germans from Russia were
5922-429: The Illinois Department of Corrections, is near East St. Louis. Also located in St. Clair County is Scott Air Force Base , which is home to U.S. Transportation Command, the Air Force's Air Mobility Command, and the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. St. Clair County is a reliably Democratic county, having voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every presidential election since 1928, with
6048-463: The Labor Temple; the next day they fanned out across the city, armed with guns, clubs, anything they could use against the blacks they encountered. From July 1 through July 3, 1917, the East St. Louis riots engulfed the city, with whites attacking blacks throughout the city, pulling them from streetcars, shooting and hanging them, burning their houses. During this period, some African Americans tried to swim or use boats to get to safety; thousands crossed
6174-445: The Mayor, as we did, to close up all the saloons ... keep sober and orderly, and when you are organized, apply to the United Workingmen for orders. Don't plunder ... don't interfere with the railroads here ... let us attend to that. The strikers held the railroads and city for about a week, without the violence that took place in Chicago and other cities. The federal government intervened, and on July 28 US troops took over
6300-410: The Mississippi River, British-American colonists began to move into the area. Many French Catholics moved to settlements west of the river rather than live under British Protestant rule. After the United States achieved independence in the late 18th century, St. Clair County was the first county established in present-day Illinois; it antedates Illinois' existence as a separate jurisdiction. The county
6426-507: The National Stock Yards. At one plant, workers allowed processing of 125 cattle in return for 500 cans of beef for the workers. Though the East St. Louis strike continued in an orderly fashion, across the river in St. Louis there were isolated incidents of violence. Harry Eastman, the East St. Louis workers' representative, addressed the mass of employees: Go home to your different wards and organize your different unions, but don't keep coming up here in great bodies and stirring up excitement. Ask
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#17330926024326552-402: The Relay Depot, the Commune's command center, and the strike ended peacefully. On May 27, 1896, a tornado struck St. Louis and East St. Louis. It stands as the deadliest tornado to ever hit the cities. In approximately 20 minutes, this tornado resulted in destruction that killed 137 people in St. Louis and 118 in East St. Louis. The tornado's destruction spanned 10 miles (16 km), including
6678-404: The South. While the white workers won a wage increase, the companies retained some black workers, firing white ones. Such economic competition raised tensions between the groups in a period when the number of blacks in East St. Louis had increased dramatically due to the first Great Migration , when African Americans left poor rural areas of the South to escape Jim Crow oppression and seek jobs in
6804-408: The U.S. ramped up sharply during the 19th century. There is a German belt consisting of areas with predominantly German American populations that extends across the United States from eastern Pennsylvania, where many of the first German Americans settled, to the Oregon coast. Pennsylvania, with 3.5 million people of German ancestry, has the largest population of German-Americans in the U.S. and
6930-485: The United States in 2020. The Germans included many quite distinct subgroups with differing religious and cultural values. Lutherans and Catholics typically opposed Yankee moralizing programs such as the prohibition of beer, and favored paternalistic families with the husband deciding the family position on public affairs. They generally opposed women's suffrage but this was used as argument in favor of suffrage when German Americans became pariahs during World War I. On
7056-413: The area. According to the St. Clair County Historical Society, the county flag was designed in 1979 by Kent Zimmerman, a senior at O'Fallon Township High School. Zimmerman's flag won first place in a contest against submissions by more than 40 grade school and high school students from throughout the county. The winning entry features the outline of St. Clair County with an orange moon, a stalk of corn, and
7182-405: The average family size was 4.02. In the city, the population was spread out, with 32.8% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.5 males. The median income for a household in the city
7308-522: The black sections of the city, indiscriminately beating, shooting and killing men, women and children. The rioters burned entire sections of the city and shot blacks as they escaped the flames. They also hanged several blacks. They destroyed buildings and physically attacked people; they "killed a 14-year-old boy and scalped his mother. Before it was over 244 buildings were destroyed." Other sources say 300 buildings were destroyed. The city had 35 police officers, but they were seen to be doing little to suppress
7434-668: The chance to start fresh in the New World. The arrivals before 1850 were mostly farmers who sought out the most productive land, where their intensive farming techniques would pay off. After 1840, many came to cities, where German-speaking districts emerged. German Americans established the first kindergartens in the United States, introduced the Christmas tree tradition, and introduced popular foods such as hot dogs and hamburgers to America. The great majority of people with some German ancestry have become Americanized ; fewer than five percent speak German. German-American societies abound, as do celebrations that are held throughout
7560-424: The city have become urban prairie . In 2017 the city marked the centennial of the riots that had so affected its residents. Other cities in St. Clair County border agricultural or vacant lands. Unlike the suburbs on the Missouri side of the metro area, those in Metro-East are typically separated by agriculture, or otherwise undeveloped land left after the decline of industry. The central portion of St. Clair county
7686-565: The city population became increasingly black. " Brownfields " (areas with environmental contamination by heavy industry) have made redevelopment more difficult and expensive. Street gangs appeared in city neighborhoods. Like other cities with endemic problems by the 1960s, violence added to residential mistrust and adversely affected the downtown retail base and the city's income. The construction of freeways also contributed to East St. Louis' decline. They were constructed through and broke up functioning neighborhoods and community networks, adding to
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#17330926024327812-417: The city, however, suffer from contaminated air and other adverse environmental effects of these sites. At the same time, the city's tax base is too poor for it to maintain its infrastructure, including the sanitary sewers, many of which have broken and overflowed in residential neighborhoods and schools. Since 2000, the city has completed several redevelopment projects: in 2001 it opened a new library and built
7938-441: The city. People who could get jobs moved to places with work and a decent quality of life. Lacking sufficient tax revenues, the city cut back on maintenance, sewers failed, and garbage pickup ceased. Police cars and radios stopped working. The East St. Louis Fire Department went on strike in the 1970s. Structure fires destroyed such a significant number of consecutive blocks that much of the post-Armageddon film Escape from New York
8064-606: The colonists. German immigrants also settled in other areas of the American South , including around the Dutch (Deutsch) Fork area of South Carolina , and Texas, especially in the Austin and San Antonio areas. Between 1742 and 1753, roughly 1,000 Germans settled in Broad Bay, Massachusetts (now Waldoboro, Maine ). Many of the colonists fled to Boston , Maine, Nova Scotia, and North Carolina after their houses were burned and their neighbors killed or carried into captivity by Native Americans. The Germans who remained found it difficult to survive on farming, and eventually turned to
8190-480: The country to celebrate German heritage of which the German-American Steuben Parade in New York City is one of the most well-known and is held every third Saturday in September. Oktoberfest celebrations and the German-American Day are popular festivities. There are major annual events in cities with German heritage including Chicago, Cincinnati , Milwaukee , Pittsburgh , San Antonio , and St. Louis . Around 180,000 permanent residents from Germany were living in
8316-425: The county. The population density was 410.6 inhabitants per square mile (158.5/km ). There were 116,249 housing units at an average density of 176.7 per square mile (68.2/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 64.6% white, 30.5% black or African American, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.2% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of
8442-462: The early 1990s, archeological surveys and excavations prior to construction of Interstate 55/70 revealed evidence of important prehistoric structures in the East St. Louis area. Both sides of the river had earlier been reported as having numerous earthwork mounds when Europeans and Americans first settled in the area. Unfortunately, most of these cultural treasures in St. Louis and on the east side were lost to development. Illinois researchers discovered
8568-557: The exception of the 1972 United States presidential election . Former Communities Here is a list of school districts with any territory in the county, no matter how slight, even if the schools and/or administrative offices are located in other counties: 38°28′N 89°56′W / 38.47°N 89.93°W / 38.47; -89.93 German-American German Americans (German: Deutschamerikaner , pronounced [ˈdɔʏtʃʔameʁɪˌkaːnɐ] ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to
8694-663: The expansion, many businessmen became overextended in credit, and a major economic collapse followed the Panic of 1873 . This was due to railroad and other manufacturing expansion, land speculation, and general business optimism caused by large profits from inflation. The economic recession began in the East and steadily moved West, severely crippling the railroads, the main system of transportation. In response, railroad companies began dramatically lowering workers' wages, forcing employees to work without pay, and cutting jobs and paid work hours. These wage cuts and additional money-saving tactics prompted strikes and massive unrest. While most of
8820-430: The famous blade town of Solingen . With their skills, they made wagons that carried the frontiersmen westward; their cannons provided the Union Army with artillery in the American Civil War , and their automobile company became one of the largest in America, although never eclipsing the "Big Three", and was a factor in the war effort and in the industrial foundations of the Army. Great Britain, whose King George III
8946-412: The ferry business, moved to St. Louis County and remarried. One of the Piggotts' great-great-granddaughters became known as actress Virginia Mayo (Virginia Clara Jones). The municipality called East St. Louis was established on April 1, 1861. Illinoistown residents voted on a new name that day, and 183 voted to rename the town East St. Louis. Though it started as a small town, East St. Louis soon grew to
9072-562: The first colonization of Louisiana with German immigrants. Of the over 5,000 Germans initially immigrating primarily from the Alsace Region as few as 500 made up the first wave of immigrants to leave France en route to the Americas. Less than 150 of those first indentured German farmers made it to Louisiana and settled along what became known as the German Coast. With tenacity, determination and
9198-401: The first generation of college-educated German Americans were moving into the chemical and oil industries. Texas had about 20,000 German Americans in the 1850s. They did not form a uniform bloc, but were highly diverse and drew from geographic areas and all sectors of European society, except that very few aristocrats or upper middle class businessmen arrived. In this regard, Texas Germania was
9324-893: The first planned Moravian community in North Carolina, in 1759. Soon after, the German Moravians founded the town of Salem in 1766 (now a historical section in the center of Winston-Salem) and Salem College (an early female college) in 1772. In the Georgia Colony , Germans mainly from the Swabia region settled in Savannah, St. Simon's Island and Fort Frederica in the 1730s and 1740s. They were actively recruited by James Oglethorpe and quickly distinguished themselves through improved farming, advanced tabby (cement) -construction, and leading joint Lutheran- Anglican -Reformed religious services for
9450-463: The flight of the population to the suburbs during the riots of the late 1960s. In 1950, East St. Louis was the fourth-largest city in Illinois when its population peaked at 82,366. As of the 2020 census , the city had a population of 18,469, less than one-quarter of the 1950 census and a decline of almost one third since 2010 . A recent addition to the city's waterfront is the Gateway Geyser . On
9576-625: The grounds of Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park , the fountain is the second-tallest in the world. Designed to complement the Gateway Arch across the river in St. Louis, it shoots water to a height of 630 feet (190 m), the same height as the arch. Native Americans had long inhabited both sides of the Mississippi River. The Mississippian culture rulers organized thousands of workers to construct complex earthwork mounds at what later became St. Louis and East St. Louis. The center of this culture
9702-447: The highest temperature ever recorded in America east of the Mississippi River . It is not considered a formal record, however, as the city had no weather station. East St. Louis has five St. Louis MetroLink stations: East Riverfront , 5th & Missouri , Emerson Park , JJK Center , and Washington Park . Interstate 55 , Interstate 64 , Interstate 70 , and U.S. Route 40 run through East St. Louis and are linked to St. Louis by
9828-576: The industrial cities of the North and the Midwest. From 1910 to 1917, the black population nearly doubled in East St. Louis. The United States established a draft which would bring in many workers to the military. As the war prevented immigration from Europe even before the U.S. entered the war, major companies had begun to recruit black workers from the South to fill demand. When white workers went on strike in April 1917 at
9954-474: The international border with Rupert's Land . When the Illinois Territory was created in 1809, Territorial Secretary Nathaniel Pope , in his capacity as acting governor, issued a proclamation establishing St. Clair and Randolph County as the two original counties of Illinois. Originally developed for agriculture, this area became industrialized and urbanized in the area of East St. Louis, Illinois ,
10080-484: The leadership of D'arensburg these Germans felled trees, cleared land, and cultivated the soil with simple hand tools as draft animals were not available. The German coast settlers supplied the budding City of New Orleans with corn, rice, eggs. and meat for many years following. The Mississippi Company settled thousands of German pioneers in French Louisiana during 1721. It encouraged Germans, particularly Germans of
10206-482: The manifesto of their settlement the ability to practice their respective Christian denominations, retain their culture and language, and retain immunity from conscription for them and their descendants. As time passed, the Russian monarchy gradually eroded the ethnic German population's relative autonomy. Conscription eventually was reinstated; this was especially harmful to the Mennonites, who practice pacifism. Throughout
10332-600: The mayor of East St. Louis, was appointed arbitrator of the committee. He helped the committee select special police to guard the property of the railroads from damage. The strike and the new de facto workers' government, while given encouragement by the largely German-American Workingmen's Party and the Knights of Labor (two key players in the organization of the Missouri general strike), were run by no organized labor group. The strike also closed packing industry houses surrounding
10458-680: The most traditional of German-speaking arrivals. They were Germans who had lived for generations throughout the Russian Empire , but especially along the Volga River and the Black Sea . Their ancestors had come from all over the German-speaking world, invited by Catherine the Great in 1762 and 1763 to settle and introduce more advanced German agriculture methods to rural Russia. They had been promised by
10584-469: The nearby major center of Cahokia , a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site within the present-day boundaries of Collinsville . A complex urban center estimated to have had a population of perhaps 20,000, this site is about 5 miles (8 km) from East St. Louis. In 2012, archeological work prior to construction of the Stan Musial Bridge across the Mississippi discovered artifacts and evidence of
10710-535: The northern Midwest saw themselves as a downtrodden ethnic group separate from Russian Americans and having an entirely different experience from the German Americans who had emigrated from German lands. They settled in tight-knit communities who retained their German language and culture. They raised large families, built German-style churches, buried their dead in distinctive cemeteries using cast iron grave markers, and sang German hymns. Many farmers specialized in
10836-448: The old country dominated the city's Socialists . Skilled workers dominated many crafts, while entrepreneurs created the brewing industry; the most famous brands included Pabst , Schlitz , Miller , and Blatz . Whereas half of German immigrants settled in cities, the other half established farms in the Midwest . From Ohio to the Plains states, a heavy presence persists in rural areas into
10962-566: The opportunity to own land, and religious freedom. Often immigrants paid for their passage by selling their labor for a period of years as indentured servants . Large sections of Pennsylvania, Upstate New York , and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia attracted Germans. Most were Lutheran or German Reformed ; many belonged to small religious sects such as the Moravians and Mennonites . German Catholics did not arrive in number until after
11088-670: The other hand, there were Protestant groups who emerged from European pietism such as the German Methodist and United Brethren; they more closely resembled the Yankee Methodists in their moralism. The first English settlers arrived at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, and were accompanied by the first German that was to settle in North America, physician and botanist Johannes (John) Fleischer (in South America Ambrosius Ehinger had already founded Maracaibo in 1529). He
11214-566: The patriot side . The Muhlenberg family, led by Rev. Henry Muhlenberg was especially influential on the Patriot side. His son Peter Muhlenberg , a Lutheran clergyman in Virginia became a major general and later a Congressman. However, in upstate New York, many Germans were neutral or supported the Loyalist cause. From names in the 1790 U.S. census, historians estimate Germans constituted nearly 9% of
11340-687: The population. By 1850 there were 5,000 Germans, mostly Schwabians living in, and around, Ann Arbor, Michigan . Many concentrations acquired distinctive names suggesting their heritage, such as the " Over-the-Rhine " district in Cincinnati, " Dutchtown " in South St Louis, and " German Village " in Columbus, Ohio. A particularly attractive destination was Milwaukee , which came to be known as "the German Athens ". Radical Germans trained in politics in
11466-408: The population. There were 11,178 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.9% were married couples living together, 40.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.80 and
11592-426: The population. In terms of ancestry, 27.5% were German , 11.1% were Irish , 7.4% were English , and 4.6% were American . Of the 105,045 households, 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.7% were non-families, and 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size
11718-659: The production of sugar beets and wheat, which are still major crops in the upper Great Plains. During World War I, their identity was challenged by anti-German sentiment . By the end of World War II, the German language, which had always been used with English for public and official matters, was in serious decline. Today, German is preserved mainly through singing groups, recipes, and educational settings. While most descendants of Germans from Russia primarily speak English, many are choosing to learn German in an attempt to reconnect with their heritage. Germans from Russia often use loanwords , such as Kuchen for cake. Despite
11844-504: The railyards and commercial districts of East St. Louis. During the storm, 311 buildings were destroyed and 7,200 others were severely damaged. The cost of this loss was estimated to be between $ 10 million and $ 12 million. In 1896 this was a considerable amount of money, as a two-story brick house could be purchased at that time for $ 1,500. East St. Louis in 1917 had a strong industrial economy boosted by America's economic participation in demands related to World War I ; although war
11970-484: The region. This led to a precipitous loss of working and middle-class jobs. The city's financial conditions deteriorated. Elected in 1951, Mayor Alvin Fields tried funding measures that resulted in raising the city's bonded indebtedness and the property tax rate. More businesses closed as workers left the area to seek jobs in other regions. The more established white workers had an easier time gaining jobs in other localities, and
12096-710: The remaining population, live in public housing owned by the East St. Louis Housing Authority. All of these residents make less than $ 9,000 per year, meaning the Authority is highly dependent upon state and federal funding to continue operating its aging housing stock. In 2010, the East St. Louis community gardening movement began to develop plots for "urban farming", as has been done in North St. Louis. Inspired by Detroit 's planned use of vacant land for green development, community associations, nonprofits and universities have collaborated to spark green development in East St. Louis. In
12222-535: The remains of several earthwork mounds . In the East St. Louis area, 50 mounds had been mapped before the Civil War, and seven remain visible today. The largest is estimated to have been originally 40 feet (12 m) high and would have nearly covered a football field. Around the remains of this mound, researchers have discovered evidence of burial mounds, a large plaza, a wooden defensive palisade and several other Mississippian culture structures. These indicate that it
12348-457: The rise as a flourishing industrial city. In addition to the human toll, they cost approximately $ 400,000 in property damage (over $ 8 million, in 2017 US Dollars ). They have been described as among the worst labor and race-related riots in United States history, and they devastated the African-American community. Rebuilding was difficult as workers were being drafted to fight in World War I. When
12474-435: The shipping and fishing industries. The tide of German immigration to Pennsylvania swelled between 1725 and 1775, with immigrants arriving as redemptioners or indentured servants. By 1775, Germans constituted about one-third of the population of the state. German farmers were renowned for their highly productive animal husbandry and agricultural practices. Politically, they were generally inactive until 1740, when they joined
12600-578: The size of the residential population of this site. Discovery of the site led scholars to increase their estimates of the total population of the Mississippians at Cahokia and in the area, now thought to have been about 20,000. They did not have the time to excavate the entire area. It is on private land and subject to risk of destruction by development. East St. Louis is located at 38°37′N 90°8′W / 38.617°N 90.133°W / 38.617; -90.133 (38.616, −90.133). According to
12726-597: The social disruption of the period. The freeways made it easier for residents to commute back and forth from suburban homes, so the wealthier people moved out to newer housing. East St. Louis adopted a number of programs to try to reverse decline: the Model Cities program, the Concentrated Employment Program, and Operation Breakthrough. The programs were not enough to offset the loss of industrial jobs due to national restructuring. In 1971, James E. Williams
12852-495: The strikes in the eastern cities during 1877 were accompanied by violence, the late July 1877 St. Louis strike was marked by a bloodless and quick takeover by dissatisfied workers. By July 22, the St. Louis Commune began to take shape, as representatives from almost all the railroad lines met in East St. Louis. They soon elected an executive committee to command the strike and issued General Order No. 1, halting all railroad traffic other than passenger and mail trains. John Bowman ,
12978-402: The territory surrounding the city remains undeveloped, bypassed by developers who chose more affluent suburban areas. Many old " inner city " neighborhoods abut large swaths of corn and soybean fields or otherwise vacant land. In addition to agricultural uses, a number of truck stops, strip clubs, and semi-rural businesses surround blighted areas in the city. Over 2,200 people, or over 12% of
13104-620: The time in Belleville, Illinois until his death. A few German Jews came in the colonial era . The largest numbers arrived after 1820, especially in the mid-19th century. They spread across the North and South (and California, where Levi Strauss arrived in 1853). They formed small German-Jewish communities in cities and towns. They typically were local and regional merchants selling clothing; others were livestock dealers, agricultural commodity traders, bankers, and operators of local businesses. Henry Lehman , who founded Lehman Brothers in Alabama,
13230-520: The total population of people of German ancestry in the world. The first significant groups of German immigrants arrived in the British colonies in the 1670s, and they settled primarily in the colonial states of Pennsylvania , New York , and Virginia . The Mississippi Company of France later transported thousands of Germans from Europe to what was then the German Coast, Orleans Territory in present-day Louisiana between 1718 and 1750. Immigration to
13356-471: The veterans returned, they struggled to find jobs and re-enter the economy, which had to shift down to peacetime. In the late 20th century, national restructuring of heavy industry cost many jobs, hollowing out the city, which had a marked decline in population. Residents who did not leave have suffered high rates of poverty and crime. In the early 21st century, East St. Louis is a site of urban decay . Swathes of deteriorated housing were demolished and parts of
13482-642: The violence. The governor called in National Guard troops to try to control the situation; they arrived July 3, but several accounts reported that they joined in the rioting. Most of the violence ended that day, but reports continued afterward of isolated assaults of blacks. Afterward the city Chamber of Commerce called for the resignation of the Police Chief and greater oversight of police operations. Losses in property damage were high, including railroad warehouses and carloads full of goods that were burned, as well as railroad cars. Though official reports suggested that
13608-476: The white population in the United States. The brief Fries's Rebellion was an anti-tax movement among Germans in Pennsylvania in 1799–1800. The largest flow of German immigration to America occurred between 1820 and World War I , during which time nearly six million Germans immigrated to the United States. From 1840 to 1880, they were the largest group of immigrants. Following the Revolutions of 1848 in
13734-766: Was $ 21,324, and the median income for a family was $ 24,567. Males had a median income of $ 27,864 versus $ 21,850 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 11,169. About 31.8% of families and 35.1% of the population were below the poverty line , including 48.6% of those under the age of 18 and 25.2% of those ages 65 and older. The city is governed by an elected mayor and city council. Several social services organizations operate in East St. Louis, including Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House , Catholic Urban Programs, Christian Activity Center, and The Delta Childcare Center of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, East St. Louis Alumnae Chapter, and The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation. St. Clair County, Illinois St. Clair County
13860-521: Was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09. The median age was 36.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 48,562 and the median income for a family was $ 61,042. Males had a median income of $ 47,958 versus $ 34,774 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 24,770. About 12.3% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over. The Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center , operated by
13986-577: Was a particularly prominent example of such a German-Jewish immigrant. They formed Reform synagogues and sponsored numerous local and national philanthropic organizations, such as B'nai B'rith . This German-speaking group is quite distinct from the Yiddish-speaking East-European Jews who arrived in much larger numbers starting in the late 19th century and concentrated in New York. The port cities of New York City, and Baltimore had large populations, as did Hoboken, New Jersey . In
14112-564: Was a ritual center. The 500-acre (200 ha) prehistoric site is now called the East St. Louis Mound Center. The state and University of Illinois are trying to develop coordinated projects with East St. Louis and businesses to use the mounds and artifacts as attractions for heritage tourism . It was built by the Mississippian culture, which extended throughout the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. It reached its peak in this region about AD 1100–1200 at
14238-554: Was also the Elector of Hanover in Germany, hired 18,000 Hessians . They were mercenary soldiers rented out by the rulers of several small German states such as Hesse to fight on the British side. Many were captured; they remained as prisoners during the war but some stayed and became U.S. citizens. In the American Revolution the Mennonites and other small religious sects were neutral pacifists. The Lutherans of Pennsylvania were on
14364-474: Was born in nearby Alton and grew up in East St. Louis. The 1999 PBS series River of Song featured these musicians in its coverage of music from cities along the Mississippi River. The city suffered from the mid-century restructuring of heavy industry and railroads, which cost widespread loss of jobs. As a number of local factories began to close because of changes in industry, the railroad and meatpacking industries also were cutting back and moving jobs out of
14490-492: Was declared in April, the nation did not meaningfully enter the war until that fall. Industry was dominated by European immigrant workers, who had been coming to industrial cities since the late 19th century. Here and across the country, they repeatedly tried to organize in efforts to gain better wages and working conditions. In the summer of 1916, 2,500 white workers struck the nearby meat packing plants of National City. Companies recruited black workers, sometimes importing them from
14616-533: Was developing war industries to support its eventual entry into the Great War, now known as World War I . In February 1917 tensions in the city arose as white workers struck at the Aluminum Ore Company . Employers fiercely resisted union organizing, sometimes with violence. In this case they hired hundreds of blacks as strikebreakers. White workers complained to the city council about this practice in late May. Rumors circulated about an armed African American man robbing
14742-500: Was elected as the city's first black mayor. Faced with the overwhelming economic problems, he was unable to make much of a difference. In 1975, William E. Mason was elected mayor; his term marked a return to patronage politics and the city sank deeper into debt and reliance on federal funding. In 1979, Carl Officer was elected as mayor (the youngest in the country at that time, at age 25). Despite hopes for improvement, conditions continued to decline. Middle-class citizens continued to leave
14868-578: Was established in 1790 by a proclamation of Arthur St. Clair , first governor of the Northwest Territory , who named it after himself. The original boundary of St. Clair county covered a large area between the Mackinaw and Ohio rivers. In 1801, Governor William Henry Harrison re-established St. Clair County as part of the Indiana Territory , extending its northern border to Lake Superior and
14994-545: Was filmed in East St. Louis. In 1990, the State of Illinois passed (65 ILCS 5/Art. 8 Div. 12) The Financially Distressed City Law. Under this law, Illinois Governor James R. Thompson provided $ 34 million in loans to East St. Louis, with the stipulation that an appointed five-member board, called the East St. Louis Financial Advisory Authority, manage the city's finances. In 1990 the state legislature approved riverboat gambling in an effort to increase state revenues. The opening of
15120-605: Was followed in 1608 by five glassmakers and three carpenters or house builders. The first permanent German settlement in what became the United States was Germantown, Pennsylvania , founded near Philadelphia on October 6, 1683. Large numbers of Germans migrated from the 1680s to 1760s, with Pennsylvania the favored destination. They migrated to America for a variety of reasons. Push factors involved worsening opportunities for farm ownership in central Europe, persecution of some religious groups, and military conscription; pull factors were better economic conditions, especially
15246-537: Was founded in 1697 by French settlers and served as a Jesuit mission to convert tribes of the Illinois Confederation to Christianity. Prior to the establishment of Illinois as a state, the government of the Northwest Territory created St. Clair County in 1790 out of the western half of Knox County. In 1809, the county became the administrative center of the Illinois Territory and one of the two original counties of Illinois, alongside Randolph County . In 1970,
15372-600: Was given after the United States acquired the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and more European Americans began to settle in the area. The village was first named "Illinoistown". East St. Louis was founded in 1797 by Captain James Piggott, a Revolutionary War veteran. In that year Piggott began operating a ferry service across the Mississippi River, connecting Illinoistown with St. Louis, which had been founded by ethnic French families. When Piggott died in 1799, his widow sold
15498-659: Was named an All-America City in 1959 by the National Civic League. East St. Louis celebrated its centennial in 1961. It was known as the "Pittsburgh of the West". Its population had reached a peak of 82,366 residents in the 1950 census, the fourth-largest city in Illinois at the time. Through the 1950s and later, the city's musicians were an integral creative force in blues, rock and roll and jazz. Some left and achieved national recognition, such as Ike & Tina Turner . The jazz great Miles Davis , who became internationally known,
15624-569: Was the largest single immigration to America in the colonial period. Most were first settled along the Hudson River in work camps, to pay off their passage. By 1711, seven villages had been established in New York on the Robert Livingston manor. In 1723 Germans became the first Europeans allowed to buy land in the Mohawk Valley west of Little Falls . One hundred homesteads were allocated in
15750-477: Was the urban complex of Cahokia , located to the north of present-day East St. Louis within Collinsville, Illinois . Before the Civil War, settlers reported up to 50 mounds in the area that became East St. Louis, but most were lost to 19th-century development and later roadbuilding. East St. Louis lies within the fertile American Bottom area of the present day Metro East area of St. Louis, Missouri . This name
15876-513: Was transported on the river to East St. Louis, then fed by barge to St. Louis furnaces as needed. After bridges spanned the river, industry expanded. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the cities attracted immigrants from southern and eastern Europe and from the South. In 1910 there were 6,000 African Americans in the city. With the Great Migration underway from the rural South, to leave behind Jim Crow and disenfranchisement , by 1917,
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