The New Student's Reference Work/Alton

Alton,' a thriving city, railroad center and port of entry in Madison County, Illinois. It is situated on the Mississippi, 25 miles above St. Louis and about 14 miles above the mouth of the Missouri. It is built on high limestone bluffs. The Mississippi is here bridged by the Burlington railroad. An electric railway connects Alton with St. Louis and with Upper Alton, the seat of the Baptist Shurtleff College. The town has a Roman Catholic cathedral, many other churches and schools and a number of important manufactories, the most important being the Illinois Glass Works. Population, 17,528.