Granite City, IL History

Granite City was officially founded in 1896, but the area was settled much earlier. During the early 1800s, settlers began to farm the rich fertile grounds to the east of St. Louis. During the 1830s, Six Mile was formed. Six Mile was a farming area that occupied the area of present day Granite City. It was named due to its proximity to St. Louis, six miles (10 km). Soon after, the national road was constructed through the area and by 1865 the first railroad was built.

Two German immigrants, Frederick and William Niedringhaus, came to St. Louis during the 1850s. At first they produced kitchen utensils by hand, but during the 1870s they patented the process of coating iron utensils with vitrified glass that gave the utensils the appearance of being coated with granite.[1] The coating was very effective in preventing oxidation of the iron and the utensils proved to be very popular. In 1891, they relocated their "graniteware" business to the Six Mile area and purchased 3,500 acres (14 km²).

In 1896, the brothers officially incorporated the area and named it Granite City, after the graniteware they produced. Their graniteware plant would later grow to occupy 1,250,000 square feet (116,000 m²) and employ over 4000 people. The plant prospered until the 1950s when aluminum, stainless steel, and pyrex replaced granite in utensils.

The job growth attracted many immigrants from most European nations. The graniteware plant helped attract other industrial corporations to the area and helped develop the area. Now several large manufacturing corporations operate in the city, including U.S. Steel, Precoat Metals, Tower Automotive, Capri-Sun, Kraft Foods, Heidtman Steel, ADM Packaged Oils, Nestle Company, Praire Farms, and American Steel.

On 3 November 1980, President Jimmy Carter, accompanied by Representative Melvin Price, gave a twenty-three minute campaign speech on the Granite City High School front lawn.

Granite City can be divided into eight areas: Downtown, East Granite, West Granite, North Granite, Nameoki strip, Community Heights, Bellemore area and the Wilson Park area. Most retailers and dining facilities are located on the Nameoki Strip, surrounding Nameoki Road.
The Wilson park area is notable for being home to the recently renovated Coolidge Middle School, Niedringhaus Elementary School, and Granite City High School as well as the city's crown jewel, Wilson Park. Wilson Park is sometimes called the "heart" of Granite City and is known for its nicely kept "turn of the century" homes.

East Granite is less defined, but is mostly modern residential subdivisions as well as both St. Elizabeth and Holy Family catholic schools. East Granite is north of the Blast Furnace at US steel. US Steel was formerly known as the Granite City Steel Co.

Downtown is at the south-western part of the city and is home to much of the city's industry, including the Granite City Steel Works. Downtown Granite suffered a downturn in the 1970s, which vacated much of its commercial buildings and in turn, urban decay began. More recently however, there has been a revitalization effort to revive the downtown area much like what Belleville, IL, Granite City, IL, and St. Charles, MO have done, although it is still in its early stages. Revitalization efforts include installing tree filled medians on Niedringhaus Avenue, street repaving, tax incentives, and new zoning restrictions. There is also a significant push for a new cinema, although it's still in the planning stage.

Lincoln Place (which in 1907, was named Hungry Hollow) became inhabited by approximately 10,000 immigrants from Macedonia, Hungary, Mexico and other parts of Central and Eastern Europe. In 1910, many Armenian immigrants migrated to Hungry Hollow.