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Environmental Development in the East St. Louis Region, 1890–1970

When H.D. Sexton, the President of the Southern Illinois National Bank, addressed the East St. Louis Commercial Club in 1909, he spoke of the rapid changes underway on the American Bottoms across the Mississippi River from St. Louis (Fig.1). He boasted that 'the clothes we wore ten years ago don't fit now. We need a new suit and we want things made to order, not hand-me downs."' His comments reflected the rapid industrial growth of the Illinois floodplain and its leaders' desire to be independent of the larger metropolis west of the river. Many of the industries that moved onto the Illinois floodplain did so because their activities would be allowed there, free from nuisance statutes in St. Louis, and because a flood protection system was under construction in 1909. These manufacturers produced noxious odors, smoke, and biological or hazardous wastes and their concentration east of the Mississippi River reflected the growing momentum to isolate offensive industries. Public works and sanitation engineering efforts acted in concert with industrial entrepreneurs to construct a sanctuary for hazardous material handling factories in Madison and St. Clair counties. Despite frequent opposition from a growing residential population, public officials tolerated industrial pollution of land, air, and water to protect the economic development of the floodplain. The historical significance of this situation is manifest in the widespread distribution of hazardous material