ALTONA 216 



creased from 17,528 in 1910 to 22,092 in 1914. 

 The area is about six square miles. 



Alton is situated in Madison County, about 

 twenty-five miles north of Saint Louis and 

 about three miles north of the confluence of 

 the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. The dis- 

 tance to Chicago, directly northeast across the 

 state is 257 miles and to Springfield, the cap- 

 ital, also northeast, is seventy-two miles. Ex- 

 cellent railway accommodations are afforded 

 by the Chicago & Alton Railway, built to the 

 city in 1867, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chi- 

 cago and St. Louis, or "Big Four" route, con- 

 structed in 1879, the Chicago, Peoria and Saint 

 Louis Railway, constructed in 1890 and the 

 Illinois Terminal, built in 1900. Electric rail- 

 ways operate to adjacent towns north and 

 south, and it is a port of call for several lines 

 of steamers. About 3,700 people are employed 

 in the two principal industrial establishments, 

 the Illinois Glass Company and the Western 

 Cartridge Company, and a large number are 

 engaged in the manufacture of machinery, 

 carriages, farming implements and tobacco 

 products. Valuable limestone is found in the 

 vicinity; this, with cement, coal, wheat and 

 fruit comprise the principal articles shipped. 



In addition to the public school system, the 

 city has an Ursuline convent. Upper Alton, 

 one and a half miles distant, is the seat of 

 Shurtleff College (Baptist) for both sexes, and 

 the Western Military Academy. Monticello 

 Seminary, for women, is about five miles dis- 

 tant. The Haynes Memorial Public Library, 

 provided by the city, the Federal Building, 

 erected in 1911 at a cost of $75,000, Saint 

 Joseph's Hospital, and the Cathedral of Saints 

 Peter and Paul, are structures of interest. 

 Rock Springs Park (eighty acres) and River- 

 view (eight acres) are the beauty spots of the 

 city. 



Elijah Lovejoy, first martyr to the cause 

 of abolition, was killed by a mob at Alton, 

 November 7, 1837, and the state has erected^ 

 in the city a monument to his memory. The 

 state penitentiary was established here in 1827 

 and subsequently removed to Joliet. The 

 buildings were used as a government prison 

 during the War of Secession. 



ALTONA, ahV tona, a Prussian city in the 

 province of Schleswig-Holstein and a German 

 commercial center of importance; it adjoins 

 Hamburg on the south, the two being virtu- 

 ally one city. It carries on a very extensive 

 commerce and since 1888, when the city joined 

 the imperial Tollverein (German customs 



ALTOONA 



union), the harbor and docks have been 

 greatly improved at a cost of $2,500,000. The 

 name is derived from allzu-nah, meaning all 

 too near, a term applied by the burghers of 

 Hamburg to the only inn in the neighborhood 

 in the middle of the sixteenth century. 

 Altona became a Prussian city in 1866, at the 

 time of confederation of the Germanic states. 

 Population in 1910, 172,628. 



ALTOONA, altoo' na, PA., distinctly a raU- 

 road city, having within its limits the great 

 shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 

 the largest in the world. It is situated in 

 Blair County, southwest of the geographical 

 center of the state, 117 miles east of Pittsburgh, 

 132 miles northwest of Harrisburg and 237 miles 

 northwest of Philadelphia. The city is well 

 served by the Pennsylvania Railroad, at least 

 fifty passenger trains being operated daily to 

 and from the city. Electric lines extend to 

 cities and towns north and south. In 1915 

 the population was 57,606, an increase of 

 5,500 since 1910. The area of the city is more 

 than three square miles. 



Altoona lies at the eastern base of the Alle- 

 ghany Mountains, 1,180 feet above sea-level, 

 in a district noted for its mountain scenery. 

 Here the railroad begins to ascend the moun- 

 tains to the west in a serpentine route by a 

 grade of ninety feet to the mile, and at a 

 distance of five miles, near the top, winds in 

 a graceful curve around the mountains, form- 

 ing the famous Horseshoe Bend. This is the 

 highest elevation traversed by the Pennsyl- 

 vania Line. North of the city is Wopsononoc 

 Mountain, the summit of which affords a 

 magnificent view of dale and river; and Sink- 

 ing valley, to the east, abounds in wonders of 

 nature. In this picturesque setting more than 

 16,000 people are employed in making and 

 repairing locomotives, passenger coaches and 

 freight cars. So extensive are the railroad 

 interests in Altoona that the Pennsylvania 

 Railroad has cooperated with the public 

 schools to establish a railway high school, with 

 full equipment of forge, foundry, and wood- 

 working machinery. The city is also the busi- 

 ness center for an agricultural region and has 

 manufactories of silk, glass and agricultural 

 machinery. Immense coal deposits are found 

 in the locality and coal-mining is an important 

 industry. Altoona has > over fifty churchds, two 

 hospitals, a public library and a mechanics' 

 library with about 40,000 volumes. 



In 1849 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company 

 selected the site of Altoona for its principal 



