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
8th Judicial Circuit
Courthouse
Friends of Lincoln
Good for Kids
Guided/Self-Guided Tours
Historic House
Historic Site
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Museum
Passport Site
Recreational
Route 66
Top Destination
Underground Railroad
Visitor Information
Wayside Exhibit
Nearby Sites
Lyman Trumbull House
1105 Henry Street Alton, IL 62002
Former Illinois Senator Lyman Trumbull's house is now a national landmark located in Alton, Illinois. Trumbull served as a longtime senator of Illinois and a staunch Abraham Lincoln and Republican Party supporter. Trumbull authored the 13th Amendment for the U.S. Constitution which abolished slavery.
Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument
Monument & 5th Streets Alton, IL 62002
Elijah P. Lovejoy, abolitionist and editor, surrendered his life for free speech, free press, and free men. As a Presbyterian minister, Lovejoy read the bible, memorized hymns and led a life of Christian morality and conviction. After college, he ventured west to St. Louis and later bought half interest in the St. Louis Times. As the paper’s editor, he was concerned with politics and social justice.
In 1836, following opposition of his anti-slavery views, Lovejoy moved the paper to Alton and called it The Observer. On Sunday, July 23, Elijah received his first printing press. Before dawn, it was destroyed and dumped in the river by a group of men from Missouri. Several of Lovejoy’s printing presses were destroyed by angry mobs. On the night of November 7, 1837, Lovejoy’s fourth press was destroyed and thrown into the Mississippi River. That night, Lovejoy was murdered as he stood defending his press.
Today, visitors can pay tribute to this martyr of the abolitionist movement at the Lovejoy Monument in the Alton Cemetery. One of Lovejoy’s presses, recovered from the river, can also be seen in the lobby of The Telegraph in Alton. Exhibits dedicated to telling the story of Elijah Lovejoy can also be found at the Alton Museum of History and Art.