Six railroads enter into agreement to use St. Louis Union Depot Company at 12th and Poplar. The East St. Louis sites soon become only relay stations.

First high grade ordinance, pushed through the Board of Aldermen by John Bowman, calls for streets to be raised 12-20 feet above existing grade and the Flood of '44 water mark Prominent high graders are industrialists and land speculators. John Lovingston, Melbern Stephens and Thomas Winstanley are in this group. Councilman Maurice Joyce and Louisiana St. John were adamant in their opposition to the plan.

Opponents, known as "Low-Graders," accused the "High-Graders" of being in the pockets of profit-hungry construction companies and resisted the move because it would have required a huge increase in taxes. They cause a fifteen year court delay in implementation.

Memo from Thomas Furlong, special agent for the Jay Gould Railroad Co., calls East St. Louis "the toughest of tough towns - tougher than Dodge City."

St. Henry's Catholic cemetery at 29th and State is established.

The Island area now has four streets parallel and eleven streets perpendicular to the Mississippi.

The city has eleven railroads: 1. Illinois and St. Louis Coal 2. Ohio and Mississippi 3. Terre Haute, Alton & St. Louis 4. Illinoistown and Belleville (Cairo Short Line) 5. Chicago, Alton & St. Louis 6. St. Louis, Vandalia & Terre Haute 7. Toledo, Wabash & Western 8. Rockford, Rock Island & St. Louis 9. St. Louis Southeastern 10. American Bottom Lime, Marble & Ca (East St. Louis Railroad) 11. Cairo Short Line.

Willis Finch and his brother start the St. Clair Tribune, a Republican newspaper with the motto "Republican, Protestant and Progressive."

High Grade Ball, a swank dance, is held at Turner Hall on 9th and St. Louis.

The Vivian Club is established.

Hyer Brothers establish Glucose Works at head Island on present site of water works.

The city builds its first fire house, located in the 100 block of Main Street.

The town plat of Illinois City is added and made part of East St. Louis.

B. Goedde & Co. opens a sprawling, brick building for the purpose of selling lumber and Millwork at 2040 Illinois Avenue.

Democrats and Republicans hold a public debate on the topic, "The Perpetuity of our Free School System."

The city has six public schools, twenty-one teachers and 1,093 pupils, almost equally divided between boys and girls.

Due to the aftermath of the Panic of 1873 and stiff competition from the Wiggins Ferry, the St. Louis Bridge Company defaults on its debt. A federal court appoints eastern businessmen, Solon Humphreys and J. P. Morgan as receivers.