Alton, Illinois

Alton, Illinois
City
The Clark Bridge, connecting Alton to West Alton, Missouri
Flag Seal
Location of Alton in Madison County, Illinois
Alton Show map of Illinois Alton Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 38°54′2″N 90°9′35″W / 38.90056°N 90.15972°W / 38.90056; -90.15972
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Madison
Government
• Mayor	David Goins
Area [1]
• Total	16.95 sq mi (43.90 km2)
• Land	15.67 sq mi (40.59 km2)
• Water	1.28 sq mi (3.31 km2)
Elevation [2]	535 ft (163 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,676
• Density	1,638.44/sq mi (632.62/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code(s)	62002
Area code	618
FIPS code	17-01114
GNIS feature ID	2393935[2]
Wikimedia Commons	Alton, Illinois
Website	www.cityofaltonil.com

Alton (/ˈɔːltən/ AWL-tən) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about 18 miles (29 km) north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. It is famous for its limestone bluffs along the river north of the city, as the former location of the state penitentiary, and for its role preceding and during the American Civil War. It was the site of the last Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debate in October 1858. The former state penitentiary in Alton was used during the Civil War to hold up to 12,000 Confederate prisoners of war. Also, the tallest man in history, Robert Wadlow, was born and raised in Alton.