East Saint Louis
[key], city (2020 pop. 25,377), St. Clair co., SW Ill., on the Mississippi
River opposite St. Louis; inc. 1859. With rapid industrialization after the
Civil War, the city was the site of labor unrest and several attempts to
form unions, beginning with the successful 1877 railroad strike. In 1896,
a major tornado destroyed much of the city and neighboring St. Louis. East
St. Louis was also plagued by major race riots in 1917, with white mobs
brutally attacking its black population, and some 300 buildings burned.
Once a rail and transportation hub with stockyards and warehouses, East St.
Louis has suffered serious economic decline; in 1994 Illinois took over
financial management of the city government, which remained in effect until
2013. Oil refining, steel, chemicals, glass, and construction materials have
all been important industries, but unemployment, population loss, and social
problems have wracked the city since the 1960s. A riverboat gambling casino
is now a major employer. In the 21st century, there has been some urban
renewal ini the city along with a thriving urban gardening movement.
The city was once the site of significant Native American mounds built during the Mississippian
period (see Mound Builders),
but they were leveled as the city grew. The first European settlement here
was in 1765. Cahokia Creek was bridged in 1795, and a ferry across the
Mississippi began operation shortly thereafter. East St. Louis was plagued
by devastating floods until its first dike was completed in 1909. Just
northeast are the Cahokia Mounds.
A second site was discovered in 2012 where an estimated 1000 homes were
located and a pyramid mound.
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