Industry

In 1871, the National Stockyards moved to East St. Louis (ESL). This was the first of a large line of large industry to move into the area. Because the area was lower and had many flooding problems the streets of ESL were raised. This made the transportation much easier, and with new roads it made it easier for more industry to move in. The industry movement began when the streets were approximately half done. Such industries included: steel, brass, malleable iron, aluminum, zinc, chemical, wood-turning and glass plants; grain elevators and flour mills; railroad related industries; lumber yards; packing houses; and breweries to name a few (St. Clair Co. 120).

The Population grew rapidly as jobs became available with the increases in industry. In the 1890Ős ESL was one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. The municipal government kept pace with development by building an extensive sewer system and paving the streets and side walks.

Such industry as coal were important. In 1891 St. Clair Co. produced 1,332,978 tons of coal. This being the second largest amount produced in Illinois (St. Clair Co. 18). Industry settled in ESL due to the price of coal being lower in Illinois than in Missouri. Also Missouri had stricter laws regarding hazardous materials. Before 1930, there were no controls on the disposal of waste. The amount of synthetic organic chemicals had risen ten-fold since 1945. Manufacturing employment grew dramatically between 1890-1929. The establishments peaked in 1929, with growth after this time being within the companies (internal). (Colten 3-4)

The railroads were an attraction to industry. Allowing the industry to settle readily in the area. In the very early 1900Ős such industry as Belleville Shoe Factory and Mosanto were populating the area. With the very large influx of people, the companies began to settle outside of ESL. One example is the Monsanto Chemical Works which settled a town outside ESL later becoming the town of Sauget. This trend of settlement outside the city did have its drawbacks. In 1920 of all the American cities with 50,000 plus residents, ESL was the second poorest. ESL was receiving no tax income.

In 1929 the Great Depression began. This was also the beginning of trouble in ESL. With the depression, some industry closed hurting employment figures. Industry returned in the 1940Ős due to W.W.II. But then by 1950Ős ESL began to feel the gradual decline to the point at which it stands today. Between 1961 and 1980 almost 13000 industrial jobs were lost due to closing of pants such as Armour Packing House, Alcoa, Emmerson Electric, Swift and Co. Obear-Nester Glass Co., American Asphalt Co., etc.

Document author(s) : Barb Baugher, Diane Timlin, Mark Child
HTML by : Barb Baugher, Diane Timlin, Mark Child
Last modified: 29 October, 1995

East St. Louis Action Research Project