Melvin Price Locks and Dam is a dam and two locks at river mile 200.78 on the Upper Mississippi River, about 17 miles (27 km) north of Saint Louis, Missouri. The collocated National Great Rivers Museum , explains the structure and its engineering.
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2.3 km
Wood River is a 2.4-mile-long tributary of the Mississippi River, which it joins near East Alton, and Wood River, Illinois, to the northeast of St. Louis, Missouri.
The Wood River is formed by the confluence of its West and East forks. These come together near where they drop down from the Mississippi bluffs. The natural channel of the Wood River used to follow the Mississippi through the bottoms before joining it. This has been cut off by an artificial channel that runs through flood control structures directly to the Mississippi. In 1803, the Wood River, gave its name to Camp Wood, where the Lewis and Clark expedition assembled.
The West Fork of the Wood River is 16.4 miles long, and the East Fork is 21.9 miles long. Honeycut Branch is a major tributary of the West Fork, and Girder Branch is a major tributary of the East Fork.
The mouth of the Wood River was a highly industrialized area during much of the 20th century. The Olin Chemical plant produced explosives and munitions for the wars of the last century. This remains as the Winchester ammunition plant. The Wood River petroleum refinery continues to operate on a reduced scale.
2.4 km
Ellis Island is an island in the Mississippi River. The island is entirely within St. Charles County, Missouri.
The namesake of Ellis Island is unknown.
2.5 km
Alton National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Alton, in Madison County, Illinois. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses only half an acre plot of land, and as of the end of 2005, had 522 interments. It is maintained by the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, in St. Louis, Missouri.
2.6 km
The Elijah P. Lovejoy Monument, also known as the Elijah Lovejoy Monument, Elijah Parrish Lovejoy Shaft, Lovejoy Monument, and Lovejoy State Memorial, is a memorial in Alton, Illinois, to Elijah P. Lovejoy, an advocate of free speech and the abolition of slavery.
Lovejoy had moved his press across the Mississippi River to Alton after his offices were attacked three times by pro-slavery forces at his former location in St. Louis, Missouri. He hid the press in a warehouse before setting up his new operation but was attacked again on November 7, 1837. He was fatally shot that night when the warehouse was attacked and destroyed by a pro-slavery mob.
2.8 km
The Yakel House and Union Brewery are a historic house and brewery complex located at 1421-1431 Pearl St. in Alton, Illinois. Philip Yakel, a German immigrant, built the brewery soon after coming to America in 1836. The brewery was the first in Alton and one of the city's earliest successful industries. Yakel's son George, who eventually ran the brewery alongside his father, built the house in 1863; it was the family's second home at the site. The brick home features a vernacular design influenced by German architectural tradition. William Netzhammer, a brewer from St. Louis, purchased the brewery in 1882. The Netzhammer family ran the brewery until it closed in 1952;, notably, the brewery continued production during Prohibition by making near beer.
The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 11, 1982.
