Alton, Illinois is only fifteen miles north of St. Louis, Missouri and is considered a part of the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area. Known for its limestone bluffs along the Mississippi River, the city and its surrounding area offer lovely drives along the Great Rivers Scenic Route. Archeological artifacts of the city’s prehistory can be viewed in the National Great Rivers Historic Museum, and outside, a prehistoric painting of a piasa bird can be seen on a cliff face.

Alton is the hometown of jazz musician Miles Davis, and it was the site of the final debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas in 1858. From its humble beginnings as a Mississippi ferry-crossing, Alton has grown to be an important center for the arts, particularly theater.

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