History of East St. Louis
East St. Louis, Illinois, located on the Mississippi River in St. Clair County, was platted in 1859 (Carpenter, 1989). It benefitted from the westward movement of pioneers, the rise of steamboat commerce on the Mississippi River, rich coal deposits nearby, and the Eads Bridge built to St. Louis in 1874.
During the late 1800s, East St. Louis declined as a river town and grew as a railroad, meat-packing, and metal-working center. After World War I, East St. Louis became a natural destination for southern Blacks seeking jobs in Midwest industry. By 1917, as more Blacks came, white anger culminated in 'the worst race riot in American history up to that time' (Williams, 1993). Thirty-nine Blacks and nine whites died.
East St. Louis reached a peak in the 1940s and 1950s. During the 1960s, industry declined which led to white flight, a declining tax base, increased poverty, an increased crime rate, and fiscal mismanagement. By the mid-1980s, the city was almost bankrupt; in 1990 the State of Illinois took over its finances.
Important People
Jackie Joyner-Kersee (pictured left) was born in East St. Louis in 1962. In 1986 she won the Sullivan Award for best American athlete. Katherine Dunham is the founder of dance anthropology. In 1967 she moved to East St. Louis and established the Katherine Dunham Center for the Arts and Humanities. James E. Williams, Sr. (not pictured) became the first Black mayor of East St. Louis in 1971.
National Register of Historic Places
Eads Bridge 1966 spans the Mississippi River at Washington Street
Majestic Theatre 1985 on Collinsville Avenue
Pennsylvania Avenue Historic District 1979 on Pennsylvania Avenue