Miss Rachel Harris's Website
Liberty Middle School
UNIT ASSESSMENT DIRECTIONS
For this unit, you are going to take the same trip as Nellie Bly to Leclaire (virtually or in person) and then report back to me what you have learned about if Leclaire is still really the best place to live.
While Leclaire is no longer a company town, it still has many of the same areas and buildings that made Nellie Bly say it was the “model town”. You will be looking at the factory, neighborhood, school, baseball field and park. Choose to visit three of the locations and look for details such as how the building/area was used during the original Leclaire days and then compare it to how the building/area is used today. You can use a T-chart to help you compare them, but it isn’t necessary. Look for the key themes of company towns, industrialization, and urbanization that we have discussed in class and how the past is still present in our daily lives
Immigration
Housing
Business Names
Industrialization
Factories
Mining
Railroads
Urbanization
Housing
Street Names
Schools
Businesses
Railroads
Recreation
Parks
Bands
Sports
Lakes
Pools
Company Town Reminders
often located in underdeveloped areas (farmland) by railroads and/or mining deposits
Two Types of Company Towns
Utopian Village
churches, libraries, schools, and other forms of recreations; no saloons
Money Maker
workers are isolated, no transportation, poor housing, no ability to work elsewhere if you leave you lose your housing.
Tour Directions
Read the background information about Leclaire, Illinois to get historical context about N.O. Nelson, the neighborhood and his company. After you have read about his town, choose three of the five locations to visit and compare and contrast what is different and what has remained the same in the building's and/or area's design and use. Here are T-Charts you can use if you want. To visit the area virtually use the website links and Google Earth or travel to Leclaire and walk around the neighborhood.
The walking tour can be found at the following link: https://www.edglenchamber.com/leclaire-walking-tour.html
Your final project will be to produce some journal of your experience. Suggestions are a photo collage, Google Earth field trip, PowerPoint, video (Tik Tok is okay), journal entry, etc.
Check out your handout for the grading rubric and requirements.
Leclaire, Illinois (Background)
Leclaire, now a part of Edwardsville, was named in honor of the pioneer French profit-sharer, Edme Jean Leclair. It was founded by Nelson Olsen Nelson of St. Louis in 1890. Nelson was born in Lillesand, Norway, September 11, 1844, and came to American in 1846. His family came with seventy neighbors, who established a colony for farming at St. Joseph, Missouri. Nelson located in St. Louis in 1872 and went into business. He was deeply interested in practical philanthropy, and established institutions and enterprises to help the poor, sick, or unfortunate. In 1890, it was Nelson’s desire to move his plumbing fixture factories away from larger cities like St. Louis. Progressive citizens of Edwardsville gave Nelson $20,000 to locate his factory near Edwardsville. Nelson bought 150 acres immediately, just to the south of town. In June 1890, Nelson and about 400 people board the train in St. Louis, and arrived in the future Leclaire to take a look at their future homes and workplace. Edwardsville Mayor Glass gave a speech of welcome. Work soon began on the shops and homes.
The industrial portion of the town, which in 1912 numbered about 650 people, had about fifteen one-story buildings which were modern, surrounded by beautiful lawns and flower beds. Nelson’s industrial shops included brass work, nickel and silver fittings, plumbers’ woodwork, planing mill, and architectural marble and machinery. Nelson stressed the importance of education, and founded the Leclaire school for employees and their children. He believed that “the hand, the heart, and head must be education together.”
The residential portion of Leclaire was beautiful throughout. It had a hedge, thirty feet high, to separate homes from the factories. There was a large common, covered with grass for outdoor sorts such as baseball and football, and there was a large assembly hall for lectures, dances, and indoor entertainment. This was also used as a schoolhouse. A special playground was well equipped for the children. All of this was free to use by residents of Leclaire, with the only stipulation made was that no admission fee or charge of any kind was made. Leclaire had the same water, telephone, and mail service as Edwardsville, but a separate electric system and fire department.
Leclaire was annexed into the city of Edwardsville in 1934.
Information taken from the Madison County ILGenWebpage written by Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
N.O. Nelson Manufacturing Co.
Nelson’s business was sold to Wagner Electric Corporation in the late 1940s, which eventually closed in 1957. The site remained vacant until the Southern Illinois University Foundation purchased the property in 1964, and then sold the facilities to the university in 1972. The campus was used by the university for classes, offices, and storage for nearly 20 years. The property was then deeded to Lewis and Clark Community College in 1999.
Today, the Leclaire National Historic District encompasses a 23-block area, with approximately 415 single-family homes, which were built in the styles of Queen Anne, Craftsman, Colonial Revival, and Bungalow. Leclaire Park is one of Edwardsville’s oldest and most beautiful parks, consisting of a little over 5 acres. The lake in the park served a dual purpose of providing water for Nelson’s factories and was a recreational lake for residents and visitors. A pavilion was constructed for band concerts, and a boat house held skiffs built in the Leclaire factories. The lake was stocked, and many fished from its shores or from skiffs. In the winter, ice skating was enjoyed on the Leclaire lake. In the late 1940s, it was determined the water was not clean enough for swimming, and the city banned swimming.
Start your tour at the factory that made it all possible.
N.O. Nelson Manufacturing Company (600 Troy Road)
N.O. Nelson Manufacturing Company
The manufacturing complex of the N. O. Nelson Manufacturing Company in Leclaire
From Friends of Leclaire
Watch the video of former, LCCC President, Dr. Dale Chapman discuss how former factory is being used today.
Nickel Plate Railroad
Click on the picture below to see how we use the Railroad lines in the area today. Scroll down to read the information and to see pictures.
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The Clover Leaf Depot, Edwardsville, IL from the Nickel Plate Station webpage of the Edwardsville Community Foundation.
Housing (403 Jefferson Road)
Click on the pictures below to see the history of the house and how Nelson planned his village. You will have to scroll to the Residential Area to find the information on the Housing Development.
Here is the house at 403 Jefferson in the early 1900s. From the Friends of Leclaire webpage.
Here is the house at 403 Jefferson in 2014. From Friends of Leclaire webpage
Housing (839 Hale Avenue)
Here is the house at 839 Hale in Leclaire in 1911. From Friends of Leclaire webpage
Here is the house at 839 Hale in Leclaire in 2015. From Google Earth.
Leclaire Academy (722 Holyoake Road)
Click on the photographs to learn more about the history of the school, and then click on the current photograph to learn how the building is used today.
Leclaire Academy early 1900s from Friends of Leclaire webpage.
Photograph taken from the Children's Museum webpage
Leclaire Lake (900 Hale Avenue)
The lake built at Leclaire was on 5 acres and originally featured boating, swimming, fishing, and ice skating.
Click on the photographs to read more about the history of the lake and historic band stand as well as current Leclaire Parkfest held every October.
Leclaire Baseball Field (701 Hale Avenue)
Click on the photograph to read about the history and current use of Leclaire Baseball field.
Curated for You
