A Historic Little Town along the Mississippi River

Having visited Pere Marquette State Park and its historic lodge, followed by our cable car assent and snack at the Aeries Winery, we continued on south along IL Hwy 100, “The Great River Road”, back toward St. Louis Missouri.

The bluffs along the Mississippi River dramatically tower over The Great River Road.  As we drove along I kept my eyes open for a hard left turn into a piece of history that is basically frozen in time.  Laurie and I had last visited this spot more than 30 years ago.  Had it changed?

Then we spotted the turn off into the village of Elsah Illinois… These ruins were new, part of the damage caused by “The Great Flood of 1993”, but otherwise we didn’t see many changes in this historic village.  Despite major damage by that flood in 1993, the town and its committed residents have persisted and rebuilt/repaired structures as needed. 

This set of ruins is called the “Ice House”.   At one point there were at least 5 ice houses in the village.  This structure was built ca. 1865 and it served as a residence for some time.  The buildings proximity to the river made it idea for storing ice…but it also led to its demise.  Today this ruin is often used to stage photos of families and newlyweds.

While many if not most of the older homes in Elsah were built with stone, this beautiful brick home at 3 Valley Street was originally built ca. 1859 as the parsonage for the local Methodist church.  Today it is known as the Parsonage-Pitchford House.  The current acting mayor in this village of 509 residents is Mike Pitchford. 

Note: Before the great flood of 1993, the 1990 census recorded 851 residents in the village.  By 2000, the population had declined to 635.

This large red brick home is the Keyser-Read House and it was built during the 1850s.  That big satellite TV dish does take away from the home’s authentic look…

Elsah was founded by James Semple, a Scottish emigrant in 1853.  Semple was a lawyer and a US Senator from Illinois...but he also owned a local granite quarry.  He needed workers and since he owned this narrow valley along the bluffs, he offered free lots to anyone who built houses with stone from is quarry.

Note: The entire town of Elsah is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

I must admit that nothing appeared open during our short visit to Elsah so it was quite difficult to identify the various homes I photographed.  I believe that this Handsome home was built in 1853 and it served as the Hotel Elsah for a while.  It should be noted that all of the homes in the village are privately owned.  I found it interesting that the stone homes and other structures were built from rough cut pieces and granite rubble from Semple’s quarry.  The effect is more charming than if the homes had been built from uniformly shaped blocks.

The town prospered for a while as the water borne shipping point for grain from Jersey County Illinois.  In fact, for a time the town was called Jersey Landing.  The rich and notorious “Robber Baron” Jay Gould even used Elsah as a bargaining chip in his effort to control the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis.  He built a railroad into Elsah in order to cut off commerce downriver to St. Louis.  Once he gained control of the bridge, he simply abandoned the rail line into the Village.

The Methodist Church in Elsah was built in 1874 and it was the only house of worship in town until the 1940s.

Elsah also encompasses Principia College, a 4-year liberal-arts private college for Christian Scientists.  The college was established in 1912 but it was relocated to Elsah in the 1930s.  The campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places separately from Elsah itself.  We didn’t visit the college campus, which is home to about 480 students.

Note: Famed actor and Academy Award Winner, Robert Duval, is an alumnus of Principia College in Elsah.

The first photo shows the Stephany-Hoey House.  It was built before 1861 and was expanded several times, with the last addition being made in 1900.

The second photo is of a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home at 27 Mill Street in Elsah.  This stone bungalow was built in 1853 and it is or was for sale with an asking price of $235,000.  I think that its referred to as the Cooper House.  

Elsah’s 1861 ‘look’ is well-preserved despite floods and economic challenges.  The historic commercial district is found along LaSalle Street and extends inward for about 3 blocks.  It primarily of stone buildings and all but one of its pre-1861 structures, including all 4 of the village’s historic taverns, still stand.  The other two districts, found along Mill Street, are primarily residential.

The Elsah Village Hall was built in 1887.  It is now used as a museum that is operated jointly by the Village of Elsah and the Historic Elsah Foundation.  Exhibits include information about James Semple and his family, architectural styles found in the Village, tools, artifacts, a mural of the town and photographs from the 1800s and 1900s.  

Note: Elsah once had a very forceful and strong chapter of the Women’s Temperance Union…and as a consequence the Village is still ‘dry’.

To learn more about Elsah Illinois, you can go to Home - Escape to Elsah, Illinois and/or About Us – Historic Elsah Foundation.  Finding these homes in the Village of Elsah is quite simple as there are only 2 main streets and they are just a few blocks long…

Once we left Elsah, once again headed south to St. Louis, I grabbed an opportunity to snatch this photo of a large towboat aka ‘pusher’ boat.  This twin screw towboat, the M/V Lexington is 40 feet wide and 170 feet long.  She’s powered by twin 5600 HP GM diesel engines.  She was built in 1969 by Jeffboat, Inc., based in Jeffersonville Indiana.  From what I could determine, she is currently owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Towing Company.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave