Visitors Guide to East Alton
Madison County, Illinois
Melvin Price Locks and Dam
East Alton began as a railroad station in the early 1800s, with a large parcel of land given over by President James Madison in 1821. The first official town was laid out in 1858 and was known as Emerald, named for the Irish immigrants who came to the area to work on the railroads Later, a small manufacturing plant, Equitable Powder Co., founded by F.W. Olin in 1892, grew into a major manufacturing concern, with plants throughout the United States and thousands of employees.
