Alton

When visiting or driving through Alton, plan a stop at the Alton Visitor Center. The friendly staff can provide you with suggestions for attractions, activities, dining and lodging in the Great Rivers & Routes tourism region as well as maps, brochures, Visitor Guides and souvenirs. The Alton Visitor Center is also a passport stamp location for the National Park Service Passport program. Public restrooms are also available.

For more information:

Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau, Alton Visitor Center
200 Piasa Street
Alton, IL 62002
618-465-6676
https://www.riversandroutes.com/

Location

Legend

Nearby Sites

Confederate Cemetery & Memorial
635 Rozier Street Alton, IL 62002

Historic Site Wayside Exhibit

A smallpox virus spread rapidly through the Alton Prison in 1863, killing more than 1,435 incarcerated soldiers. The soldiers are laid to rest here and each of their names is commemorated at the Memorial. The Alton Prison and Confederate Cemetery are some of the rare northernmost monuments to the Confederate Soldier.

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Franklin House
208 State Street Alton, IL 62002

Historic House Lincoln-Douglas Debate Wayside Exhibit

In the 1840s and 1850s, the Franklin House was one of the largest and finest hotels in Alton. Spectators of the debate came by train and steamboat from all over Illinois and the nearby slave state of Missouri to witness the last of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates in Alton. Lincoln used the Franklin House as his campaign headquarters where supporters gathered for the day.

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Lincoln & Civil War Legacy Trail
200 Piasa St Alton, Illinois 62002

Friends of Lincoln Historic Site Lincoln-Douglas Debate Wayside Exhibit

Visitors can pick up the Lincoln & Civil War Legacy Trail guide at the Alton Visitor's Center, located at 200 Piasa Street (across from Argosy Casino) in Downtown Alton. While some of the sites are within walking distance of each other, most will require some mode of transportation. The trail is self-guided, and visitors can explore the sites in any order they wish.

Lincoln's first visits to Alton can be traced back to the early 1840s. Experience the life of young Lincoln as a lawyer, duelist and orator. It was here that the final Lincoln-Douglas Debate took place, with the issue of slavery on the minds spectators. It was here that Confederate soldiers were held captive, died and were buried. It was here that Alton resident and U.S. Senator Lyman Trumbull authored the 13th Amendment, putting an end to slavery in the United States. 

 Walk in the footsteps of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and Civil War soldiers from both North and South, as you explore the lasting legacies of Lincoln in Alton.

The new trail connects ten historic sites in Alton relating to Lincoln's time spent here and the city's connections to the Civil War. The journey begins with Lincoln & Douglas in Lincoln-Douglas Square. Subsequent sites include: Ryder Building, Smallpox Island and Lincoln-Shields Duel sites, Lovejoy Monument, National Cemetery, Lyman Trumbull House, Confederate Cemetery, Alton Prison and Franklin House. At each of the sites, visitors will find interpretive panels that further tell the story of each site and Alton's connections to American history.

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Lincoln-Shields Duel
1 Henry Street Alton, IL 62002

Historic Site Wayside Exhibit

A member of the Illinois State Legislature at the time, Lincoln criticized Illinois Auditor James Shields' method of collecting taxes. Pretending to be a widow from the "Lost Townships," Lincoln wrote a series of letters to the editor of the Sangamon Journal making satirical allusions to Shields. Mary Todd and her friend Julia Jayne joined in the ruse by writing a letter containing vicious personal attacks, calling Shields a fool and liar. Shields challenged Lincoln to a duel when he learned of Lincoln's complicity in the letter writing. Feeling the entire situation ludicrous, Lincoln nonetheless followed custom and chose an island across the river from Alton as the site for the duel on September 22, 1842, with "Calvary broadswords of the largest size" as the weapons of choice. As Lincoln's long arms swung the broad- sword at a branch on a nearby willow tree, Shields wisely decided to settle the disagreement like gentlemen. The site marker can be found along the riverwalk, across from the Riverfront Amphitheater, looking out on the Mississippi River.

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Lincoln - Douglas Square
Broadway St. and Landmarks Blvd Alton, IL 62002

Lincoln-Douglas Debate Wayside Exhibit

The final senatorial debate between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln took place in front of Alton's city hall at the corner of Broadway and Market Streets in 1858.

The debate itself drew national attention and more than 6,000 people gathered in downtown Alton for the event.

That moment in time is forever frozen in time at the Lincoln-Douglas Square. Lifesize bronze statues depict the two men intensely debating the issues of the time. 

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