Western Military Academy - Recall Yearbook (Alton, IL)

Page 18 text:

History jjwl LTON, ILLINOIS, is located about twenty-five miles north WW of St. Louis. Missouri, on the hills that slope gently down to the eastern edge of the Mississippi River. Founded in 1817, Alton seemed at one time to have possibilities of sur- MM passing the French settlement at St. Louis in wealth and population; for the people were industrious and the sur- 1 rounding country was rich and fertile. The Mississippi furnished an avenue of trade to and from the North and the South. Settlers came from both sections. They were naturally divided in their opinions on slavery. Here Lovejoy launched a campaign for universal emancipation, but he soon came to a violent death. On the site of the present city hall. Lincoln and Douglas met in the bitterness of debate. Parts of the walls of the prison that was used for Confederate soldiers still remain. After the close of the Civil War, Alton continued to grow, but not as rapidly as St. Louis. Letters were no longer addressed to “St. Louis. Mo., near Alton. 111.’’ Still, many people came and made homes for themselves in the vicinity or in the town proper. Among these was a gentleman by the name of Bostwick. He had an ambition to establish a pleasing country home. With this object in view he purchased some one hundred and sixty acres about two miles north of the Mississippi River. His choice was a very happy one. The land was rolling, very productive, and possessed of great natural beauty. Orchards were planted, roads were laid out, and in 1832 a country mansion and accessory buildings were constructed on a magnificent scale. Much of the building material was handmade and brought overland from points as distant as Pittsburgh. Pa. This is especially true of the wrought iron front fence which was erected in 1835. The cornerstone at the northwest corner of the Admini- stration Building formerly was a part of the foundation of Bostwick ' s residence. But when his plans had been accomplished only in part. Mr. Bostwick died, leaving his estate to his family. It continued in their possession until 1855 when it was sold. From then on it changed hands frequently, sometimes serving as a school and sometimes merely as a residence.