Historical Markers and War Memorials in Belleville
Belleville, Illinois and Vicinity
▶ St. Clair County(90) ▶ Clinton County(3) ▶ Madison County(101) ▶ Monroe County(65) ▶ Randolph County(11) ▶ Washington County(3) ▶ St. Louis, Missouri(457) ▶ St. Louis County, Missouri(395)
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On East Main Street, on the right when traveling east.
When the doors opened at Belleville Savings Bank's new building on October 15, 1913, the bank was the oldest and largest in Belleville. It had been chartered in 1859. German immigrant Edward Abend, who came with the first group of "Latin Farmers" . . . — — Map (db m143316) HM
On West Main Street at North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
Daughter of prominent civic leader Colonel John Thomas, Alexander-Bahrenburg in 1887 took over management of Belleville Citizen's Horse Railway. In 1900 she was elected one of the first female trustees of the University of Illinois. She became in . . . — — Map (db m152949) HM
On West Main Street at North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
Born in Belleville, Buddy was the son of Christian Ebsen, the physical fitness instructor of the Belleville Turners. Fitness and dance instruction by his father served Buddy well and led to a 70-year career in show business. The Ebsen family left . . . — — Map (db m153304) HM
On East Main Street west of High Street, on the right when traveling east.
In 1867, Henry Deidesheimer was one of three businessmen who built three identical buildings on adjoining lots on East Main Street at High Street. Each brick and iron building was three stories tall. Deidesheimer's dry goods and grocery store . . . — — Map (db m157736) HM
On East Main Street just west of North Church Street, on the right when traveling west.
When Dorothea Deichmann had this building constructed in 1892, it was still unusual for a woman to own property in her own name, erect buildings, and conduct her own business, but Deichmann was ahead of her time. She sold hats at this location from . . . — — Map (db m143390) HM
On West Main Street at North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
A Missouri newspaperman, Daley came to Belleville in 1916 to become the executive director of the new Greater Belleville Board of Trade and promote the civic and economic development of Belleville. In 1917, he led the effort to convince the War . . . — — Map (db m152953) HM
On East Main Street at Mascoutah Avenue, on the right when traveling east on East Main Street.
The park is on the site of Hanover House, built in 1862, and later named Hotel Tiemann. The three-story hotel was demolished in 1998. Ever and Anon Park was developed by the Belleville Heritage Society.
Old Belleville Historic District, one . . . — — Map (db m143389) HM
On West Main Street at North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
Blair was a Scottish American who arrived in St. Clair County in the 1790s and became the county sheriff. Soon after 1800 he moved to a 200-acre farm in the Clinton Hill Precinct. On March 10, 1814 he concluded negotiations with a county commission . . . — — Map (db m152951) HM
On Abend Street at Mascoutah Avenue, on the right when traveling north on Abend Street.
Gustavus Koerner came to Belleville from Germany in 1833. He took a law degree from the University of Heidleberg in 1832. Shortly after, he was arrested during a political demonstration. He escaped and joined a party of emigrants. In Illinois his . . . — — Map (db m140531) HM
On West Main Street at North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
Abandoning hope of political reform in Germany, members of the Friedrich Engelmann family, including daughter Sophie, immigrated to the Belleville area in 1833. Sophie's suitor, Gustave Koerner, accompanied them after participating in a failed . . . — — Map (db m153301) HM
On East Garfield Street at Mascoutah Avenue, on the right when traveling west on East Garfield Street.
Adam Gintz, the president of Belleville's Western Brewery, built a saloon on the corner of Garfield and Mascoutah in 1896. Successor businesses would continue to provide alcoholic beverages here for more than a hundred years. The earliest . . . — — Map (db m143311) HM
On Old Collinsville Road 0.2 miles north of Clinton Hill Drive, on the right when traveling north.
John Messinger received a formal education in New England before settling on the Illinois frontier in 1802. After serving as St. Clair County Surveyor, he was appointed Deputy United States Surveyor and platted much of the government land between . . . — — Map (db m140532) HM
On West Main Street at North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
A native of Bavaria, Germany, Liese arrived in Belleville in 1864; became a bookkepper; and began teaching music. He joined the new Belleville Philharmonic orchestra in 1867 and became its second conductor in 1869. Until his resignation in 1885, . . . — — Map (db m152952) HM
On West Main Street at North 2nd Street, on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
At age 18, Fred Kastel began his career as an electrical contractor in 1906. He would remain in the business for 50 years. For much of his career he installed electrical wiring and fixtures in buildings constructed before the use of electricity was . . . — — Map (db m152863) HM
On West Main Street at North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
A Belleville native, Mueller pitched in the minor leagues after graduating from Belleville Township High School in 1937. The Detroit Tigers called him up for the 1941 season. Following service in World War II he returned to Detroit in 1945 and was a . . . — — Map (db m153289) HM
On West Main Street at North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
A native of Connecticut, Trumbull arrived in Belleville in 1837 to practice law. He successfully challenged the last legal justification for slavery in Illinois. Before moving from town in 1848, he entered politics, serving a term in the Illinois . . . — — Map (db m153287) HM
On West Main Street at North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
Edwards came to Illinois from Kentucky in 1809 to become territorial governor. After Illinois attained statehood in 1818 he served as one of the state's first two US Senators. Even before moving to Belleville in 1824, Edwards heavily invested in the . . . — — Map (db m153303) HM
On West Main Street at South 2nd Street, on the right when traveling east on West Main Street.
Henry Peters did something unusual for a saloonkeeper. He bought the property on which his rented saloon stood and built his own saloon at this location in 1910. A native of Germany, Peters became a saloonist in the 1890s and along with many fellow . . . — — Map (db m152881) HM
On West Main Street west of South 2nd Street, on the right when traveling east.
Joseph Reichert, who had emigrated from the German State of Baden, was a prosperous miller in Freeburg seeking a business opportunity in Belleville. He constructed this building in 1880 to be operated by his daughter and son-in-law, Maria and John . . . — — Map (db m152864) HM
On West Main Street at North Lincoln Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
A Belleville native, Goalby graduated from Township High School in 1947 after starring in football, basketball, and baseball. He played football at the University of Illinois but chose golf for his career. Having honed his golf skills while a caddie . . . — — Map (db m152950) HM
On East Main Street just east of South Jackson Street, on the right when traveling east.
Peter M. Romeiser, a German immigrant and Civil War veteran, opened a small clothing store for men in 1878 that grew into a mercantile empire extending from this building to South Jackson Street in 1906. His innovative pricing policy in the retail . . . — — Map (db m143387) HM
On West Main Street near North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling west.
Belleville native Sterling graduated from Belleville Township High School in 1922 and worked as a stenographer. By 1925 she was an assistant secretary at the Belleville Casket Company and rose through the ranks to become company president in 1953, . . . — — Map (db m157740) HM
On East Main Street, on the right when traveling west.
St. Clair National Bank began business in a former saloon at this location in 1919. The bank flourished and hired the local architectural firm of Frank Riester and Otto Rubach to design a new building that would convey a sense of the bank's . . . — — Map (db m143314) HM
On West Main Street at North Illinois Street (Illinois Route 159), on the right when traveling east on West Main Street.
For Germans yearning to live in a freer land, Justice Theodor Hilgard of the appellate court of Rhenish Bavaria encouraged scouts to immigrate to the United States to locate favorable places to settle. In 1833 they began the Latin Farmer migration, . . . — — Map (db m157746) HM
On West Main Street east of North 3rd Street, on the right when traveling east.
Opening night at the Washington Theatre was January 17, 1913. The admission price was 10 cents. Owner and theater magnate Louis Landau, Jr., directed the first night's performance include both vaudeville acts and a silent movie. Live music . . . — — Map (db m152865) HM