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1865 - John Bowman seeks to force a total merger of the various cities that allied themselves in 1861. He makes an effort to achieve the consolidation (including the ferry landing area) via state charter. The Town Council authorizes a new charter to be drafted (by Messrs. John Bowman and S. M. Lount) which defines new boundaries for the city. The move is again opposed by the Wiggins faction but several concessions are made in the bill which softens their opposition. (Licenses for ferry boats are limited to one hundred dollars per annum.) The original charter is stolen from the committee room and Bowman and Lount are forced to rewrite it from memory. The Island area becomes a part of East St. Louis, whose boundaries extend from Piggott Ave. to St. Clair Ave. (south to north) and from the Mississippi to Tenth Street (west to east).At the first public election for mayor, John Bowman is elected to a two year term. Bowman likes to ride a big white horse while wearing a large white hat to match. He is hampered in his long range plans for the city by local law that says he cannot succeed himself in office. Click here to read more about East St. Louis's colorful political history
Wiggins Ferry Company hires surveyor Henry Holbrook. He subdivides a section of Bloody Island by laying out 734 lots and building inexpensive houses. This area is called the Ferry Division of East St. Louis and becomes the Third Ward of the growing city. East St. Louis Real Estate and Savings Bank becomes the first financial institution in the city. East St. Louis Savings Bank will later combine with Illinois State Trust Bank, retaining the latter name. It evolves into Union Trust at the comer of Missouri and Collinsville Avenues. East St. Louis Gas Light and Coke Company is chartered by the state of Illinois. The plant manufactured coal gas, water gas and tar. In 1907 the company is consolidated with Belleville Gas and Electric and assume the name St. Clair County Gas and Electric, headed by C H. Quackenbush. First National Bank is established. It will forever be remembered as the bank with the huge clock above the main entrance. By 1865 Bloody Island, though still connected with the Illinois shore by dikes, ceases to exist and becomes an integral part of East St. Louis. School Board decides to open the Upper School in the basement at St. Patrick's church. Mr. P. I. Marion is the first principal. At the end of the year, the first East St. Louis fire department is organized. There had been a volunteer Hook and Ladder Company organized in 1861, but it was disbanded due to most of its members enlisting to fight in the war. A year later they will purchase a horse-drawn engine with a steam boiler used for pumping. Prior to the formation of a fire department, fires are fought by bucket brigade volunteers. Special census of the Island area reveals a population of nearly 800 people of French and English extraction. Ohio and Mississippi R. R. begins ten year project to change from wide gauge tracks to standard gauge. The city's second newspaper, the Sunday Herald , begins publication. It is owned and edited by James L. Faucett.Stephen A. Douglas School, located on the Island at Fourth and Mullikin, is completed at a cost of $6,000. A feast and a ball are held to celebrate the event.
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