MILLSTADT [IL] MILESTONES

Milestones in the History of Millstadt, IL

[Revised: February 20, 2009]

Compiled by Robert Buecher, 5400 Pernod Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63139-1537

For additional information and history of Millstadt, please check:

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The following list includes dates of various importance in the history of Millstadt, Illinois. Many of the dates came from newspaper articles published in the Millstadt “ENTERPRISE” and the Belleville “ADVOCATE” as well as other research by Mr. Buecher.

1836, Jan. 17 – Zion Evangelical Church held its first service south of town at the log cabin home of Johannes Freivogel (Sr.). Rev. Johann Jacob Riess conducted that first service and later became the first minister of Zion Church.
1837, March 13 – the original village of Centreville/Centerville, consisting of 40 lots, was platted by Henry Randleman. The lots were approximately bounded by Washington, Jefferson, White, and Madison streets. The village was given that name since it was 7 miles from Belleville, 7 miles from Columbia, and 7 miles from Pittsburg Lake. The new village was recorded with the St. Clair County Recorder of Deeds on 17 March 1837 in Deed Book “I”, page 264.
1837 – the first store was a blockhouse measuring 16 by 18 feet and was opened by Henry Randleman and William Davis at the northwest corner of Washington & Jefferson streets.
1837, July 15 – an additional 60 lots were added to the village and called the “1st Addition of Henry Randleman”. The lots were bounded by White, Jefferson, Elm and Monroe streets.
1842, October 27 - 11 more lots were added and called the “2^nd Addition of Henry Randleman”.
1842, October 28 - 50 more lots were added and called the “3^rd Addition of Henry Randleman”. Washington, Monroe, White, and Lafayette streets roughly bound that area.
1843 - a Mr. Cummings opened the first inn here.
1843, June 7 - George Kuntz was appointed the first postmaster of Millstadt.
1844, May 4 - “Centreville Cemetery” [also known as the Old Millstadt Cemetery] was established at the southwest corner of Jefferson and Harrison streets. One of the first known burials was Wilhelm Siebert, son of Martin Siebert, who was buried there on 23 October 1844.
1845 - Dr. William S. Van Cleve, the town’s first doctor, settled here.
1845, October 15 - 200 lots were added and called the “4^th Addition of Henry Randleman”. That area is roughly bounded by White, Monroe, Elm, and Lafayette streets along with the area bounded by Elm, Jefferson, Harrison, and Lafayette streets.
1846 - Leonard Daab built the first brewery here.
1847, August 27 - 79 lots were added in the west end of town and called the “1^st Addition of George Henckler”. Washington, Lafayette, White, and Illinois streets bound that area.
1848, fall - the first Lutheran church service was conducted in Millstadt by Rev. George A. Schieferdecker at the home of Philipp Buecher. Pastor Schieferdecker later became the first pastor of “die evangelisch lutherische Dreieinigkeits Gemeinde” [Trinity Lutheran Church]
1848, November 25 - 69 lots were added and called the “2^nd Addition of George Henckler”. That is the part of Millstadt bounded by White, Lafayette, Elm, and Veteran’s Drive.
1849 - the first general store was opened by Loyat Brater
1849 - Valentine Brenfleck built a brewery at the northwest corner of Main and Washington streets at a cost of $31,000. It was called the “Millstadt Brewery” and operated until about 1878.
1849, summer - a cholera epidemic struck the town with 70 – 100 people dying in only a few months.
1849, October 21 - Trinity Lutheran Church was dedicated. It was the first church built in Millstadt and cost $865.00. The builder was Friedrich Jacob Linn.
1850, August 1 - 40 more lots were added to the town and called the “Addition of Cornelius Gooding”. That is the area of town roughly bounded by Jefferson, Mill, Monroe, and Gooding streets. On the same day, 36 lots were added and called the “Addition of James Glass”. Jefferson, Mill, Mulberry, and Gooding streets roughly bound it.
1850 & 1851 - Zion Evangelical Church built their first church in Millstadt in the 100 block of West White Street. Pastor Jacob Knauss and former Pastor Johann Jacob Riess dedicated it on 11 May 1851.
1851 - St. James Catholic Church was dedicated in Millstadt. The first resident priest was Rev. Henry Lierman. Catholics in the area had previously attended St. Thomas the Apostle Chapel, which was located a few miles southwest of Millstadt. The St. Thomas Chapel was a log building built in 1837 and dedicated on 26 Nov. 1837 by Bishop Joseph Rosati of St. Louis.
1852, March 25 - the “Stookey & Glass Addition” consisting of 20 blocks was added to the east part of Millstadt. The blocks were roughly bounded by Washington, Jefferson, Elm and Kossuth streets.
1857 & 1858 - Franz Bauer built a flourmill for $50,000 in the 100 block of West Oak Street with a capacity of 450 barrels a day. In 1902, the building became the Millstadt Brewery. After many years of decay, the building was razed in December 1968.
1860, August 21 - 30 lots were added to town and called the “Addition of George Henckler and Joseph Kopp”
1860/1861 - Peter Strauss, a native of Niedermohr, Germany, started his carpentry and undertaking business in town.
1861, May - the second section of the Centreville Cemetery was bought for $235.00 from Henry Ohlendorf.
1863 - Zion congregation built their third and present church. It was located at the northeast corner of White and Monroe streets and was opposite their second church, which was completed in 1851. Construction on the new church was begun on June 1, 1863; the cornerstone was laid on June 23; two bells were dedicated on October 29; and the finished church was dedicated on December 13.
1866, September 30 - the Union Aid Society “Union Unterstuetzung Verein” was organized with 70 members. The society disbanded on 21 November 1931.
1867 - a school for the St. James congregation was built at the northwest corner of Madison and Lafayette streets for $4,000. It was razed in 1958 to make way for a new Catholic rectory.
1867, October 26 - the town of Centreville [Millstadt] was officially organized. The first Board of Trustees were elected on 2 November 1867 and consisted of: George W. Sieber, Adam Hoffman, John Olinger, Henry Schultheis, and Nicholas Theobald.
1871 - Trinity Lutheran Church built its second church on West Madison Street for $2,449.00. The building was razed in July 1969 and later the Father Freund Parish Center at St. James Church was built on the site.
1871, August 6 - Centreville Union Fire Company was organized with 32 charter members. Charles Jacobus was the first captain and George W. Sieber was the first president of the organization.
1875, April 17 - the Independent Order of Odd Fellows [I.O.O.F.] was started in town as Aurora Lodge No. 567.
1878, January 12 - an election was held for the organization of Centreville as a “village”. There were 51 votes ‘for’ and 26 votes ‘against’ the measure. Charles Jacobus was elected that same year as the first mayor of Centreville [Millstadt].
1878, September 14 - the Board of Trustees of the Village of Centreville passed a revised ordinance to change the name of the village to the ‘Village of Millstadt”.
1880 - Fred Backer and Christian Stern operated their flour mill at the southeast corner of Jefferson and Laurel streets until 1884; from 1885 thru 1900 it was operated as the Hirsch & Sons Mill; from 1900 thru 1957 it was the feed mill of the Millstadt Milling Company; and it has been operated since May 1957 as Midland Milling Company.
1881, October 1 - the Peter Kalbfleisch Hotel was dedicated at the northwest corner of Jefferson and Laurel streets.
1883, May - the Bell Telephone Company extended its telephone line to town.
1883, June 23 - the Millstadt Liederkranz was organized as a singing society with 21 members. The first musical director was Philip Andreas. The society disbanded shortly after 1949.
1883, November 13 - the first railroad train entered Millstadt with schools and business closed to witness the event. The railroad line was built by the St. Louis & Cairo Railroad, which later became the Mobile & Ohio Railroad. Railroad service to the town ended in July 1961.
1884, April 1 - Millstadt Township was officially organized
1885, September - the new two-story brick building of the Millstadt Public School was completed in the 200 block of West Mill. It cost $9,793.70 and was built by Friedrich Koch of Columbia, IL. The new school building opened on Sept. 14^th. The fire escape tubes on the sides were added in 1927. The building was razed during the summer of 1954 to make way for Millstadt Consolidated School, which was built around it.
1887, September 4 - Millstadt celebrated the 50^th anniversary of its founding with a parade and huge festival.
1887, October 18 - the present St. James Catholic Church was dedicated at the southwest corner of West Washington and Lafayette. It was built at a cost of $7,300.00
1889, September 22 - Millstadt area veterans of the Civil War organized the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) Post 684 with 30 charter members. William Hartmann was the first post commander.
1892, February 6 - the Millstadt Creamery was incorporated with a capital of $3,000.
1892, May - the newly built Merkel Hotel was opened by Cornel Merkel at the northeast corner of Washington and Main streets.
1892, September 18 - the Millstadt Liederkranz Society dedicated their new hall on North Jefferson Street. It was built for $3,079 on land donated by Caspar Boemer. The hall was extensively remodeled in the spring of 1922. The building was razed on March 31, 1996.
1894, October 9 - the Millstadt Milling Company was incorporated with a stock of $28,000 and a capacity of 265 barrels of flour a day. It was sold to Meletio in April 1957 for the production of ‘Golden Dipt’.
1895, March – the Weible Merchantile Company store, owned by James F. Weible was built at the northwest corner of Washington & Jefferson streets. The building was bought by John Hirsch and used as his mercantile store from 1900-1930. C. R. Hatter leased it from 1936 to 1945 to run his Nation-Wide store. It was razed in Oct. 1957 to make way for a new Standard Oil Filling Station.
1897, February – an electric light plant was built by the village at a cost of $9,000 with 600 incandescent lights. It was located in the 100 block of West White Street, next to Zion’s second church.
1897, May 14 - the first issue of the town’s newspaper, the Millstadt Enterprise, was published. Edson W. Cross was the first owner and publisher.
1897, July - the Star Creamery Company was first organized and located at the southeast corner of Jackson and Laurel streets The building was sold in 1913 to August Diedrich for use as an automobile repair garage.
1900, January - John Hirsch sold his two mills to the Millstadt Milling Company for $10,000.
1902, May - the Millstadt Brewery Company was incorporated by William Strauss, Louis Kalbfleisch, and William Pistor with a capital of $20,000. It operated in the former flourmill of Franz Bauer on Oak Street.
1903, June 1 - the First National Bank of Millstadt was opened by Fred L. Baltz in the office of the Millstadt Milling Company. The bank moved into its new building at 115 East Washington on August 3, 1903.
1905, April - a jail was built on West White Street near the old Village Hall [Zion’s second church] at a cost of $477.00
1906, April 6 - the Millstadt “Enterprise” newspaper was bought by Arthur J. Mollman.
1906, April 12 - area citizens met at the Village Hall to make arrangements for a local telephone system.
1907, June 11 - Benjamin J. Reitz published the first issue of the “Semi-Weekly News” of Millstadt. The paper ended publication in October after producing about 40 issues.
1908, January 16 - Mount Evergreen Cemetery was dedicated. The first burial on that day was William Schmahlenberger.
1912, April 2 - a train wreck on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad tracks west of town in which the engineer, William Strauss, and the brakeman, Arthur Swinderman, were killed.
1912, April 30 - the Millstadt Commercial Club was organized for the purpose of securing the right-of-way for the Fischer Coal Company. Fred L. Baltz was the first president. The company purchased the farm of Barbara Keller in Sections 12 & 13 in Millstadt Township. This was the first time “strip mining” was used in the Millstadt area.
1912, September 1 - a celebration was held at the Liederkranz Park in honor of the 75^th anniversary of Millstadt.
1914, September 3 - the fire company (founded in 1871) changed its name to “Millstadt Union Fire Company”.
1914, September 20 - the first annual “Millstadt Homecoming” was held.
1917, April 10 - the Domestic Science Club was organized with Mrs. A. J. Mollman as its first president. The name was changed in July 1942 to the Millstadt Woman’s Club.
1917, June - a local Chapter of the American Red Cross was organized in Millstadt.
1920, January 15 - the Millstadt American Legion Post 502 was organized at Merkel’s Hall with 15 charter members. Dr. G. J. Diesel was the first post commander.
1924, March - the Boy Scouts were first organized in Millstadt.
1927, September 27 - the new concrete highway between Belleville and Millstadt was officially opened.
1928, June 1 - a new First National Bank building was dedicated at the northeast corner of Washington and Jefferson streets.
1929, August - the Junior Household Science Club was organized with Miss Louise Mollman as its first president. The club changed their name in 1943 to the Millstadt Civic Club.
1931, July - the four-year legal battle against the Millstadt city sewer system ended when the Illinois Supreme Court overturned a St. Clair County Court ruling against the new sewer system.

1931, August 1 - the Weil-Kalter Factory building was dedicated in the 300 block of West Washington Street. It was built at a cost of $20,000.
1931, August - the Millstadt Water Tower was erected on lots behind the fire station.
1931, August - the Peter Oldendorph blacksmith shop was dismantled and moved to Chicago for the World’s Fair Exhibit
1932, June - Dan Niemeier was the first Millstadt resident to have city water connected. Before that time, each residence had their own well.
1934, February - the Last Man’s Club of Millstadt was organized for World War I veterans.
1934, May 20 - August Schmidt died at the age of 93 years. He was the last Civil War veteran from Millstadt to die.
1937, October 3 - the American Legion Post 502 dedicated their new building at the southwest corner of Washington and Polk streets.
1939, June 8 - the Millstadt Rotary Club received its charter as a new organization. Dr. L. E. Tegtmeier was the club’s first president.
1939, September - the Millstadt Girl Scouts were first organized with 3 patrols.
1941, September - St. James Catholic School is reopened after being closed for 14 years.
1942, September 15 - the Millstadt Parent Teachers Association [P.T.A.] was organized with Mrs. Kenneth Mollman as its first president.
1943, May 26 - the last class graduated from Millstadt’s two-year high school.
1945, September 27 - the Millstadt Enterprise published a special “Service Edition” which listed all those from the Millstadt area with military service during World War II.
1946, July 12 - Post 7980 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars [V. F. W.] was organized in Millstadt with Robert Sauthoff as the first commander of the local post.
1947, August - Kommunity Lumber Company was built on West Washington Street.
1948, August - area voters approved the new Millstadt Community Consolidated School District # 160. The 6 schools that were consolidated were: Millstadt Public, White, Union, Saxtown, Eckert and Oakdale. There were 145 votes in favor and 34 against the consolidation.
1948, December - the Millstadt School gymnasium was finished.
1949, May 26 - the first eighth grade graduation ceremony held in the new gymnasium and the first one of the new Millstadt Community Consolidated School District # 160.
1950, July - the first Learn to Swim program graduated 37 pupils. The program was started by Mr. & Mrs. Barney Hirsch after 3 Millstadt youths drowned within 4 days in June of 1950.
1950, November - the 4-Way stop at the intersection of Washington & Jefferson got its first blinking stop light.
1951, January - the first “Miss Millstadt” contest was sponsored by the Millstadt Civic Club. Miss Joan Kern was the first “Miss Millstadt” that year and Donna Battas was the last one in 1977.
1951, April - Millstadt installed street signs for the first time.
1952, March - the Millstadt Khoury League was started.
1952, July - construction began on the V. F. W. home at the corner of West Washington and Veterans Drive.
1953, October – the Millstadt Cub Scouts were newly organized with 5 dens.
1954, September 1 - the new Millstadt Consolidated School was opened at 211 West Mill with a formal dedication held on January 23, 1955. The 12 classrooms were built at a cost of $294,000.
1955, March - the Millstadt Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps made its first public appearance at a MCS basketball game.
1955, June - Millstadt got the GReenfield exchange for its telephone system.
1955, June 26 - Rev. Edwin Hoelter dedicated the newly constructed Trinity Lutheran Church at 503 East Washington.
1956, September – the first house-to-house mail delivery began in Millstadt. Prior to this date, residents would pick up their mail at the local post office.
1958, April 20 - the new St. James Catholic School on West Washington Street was dedicated by Bishop Albert Zuroweste.
1959, February - the Millstadt Knights of Columbus was first organized.
1960, June 8 - the Golden Age Club was formed at the V.F.W. home with 36 members. Mrs. Fred Bange was the club’s first president.
1961, April 29 - the new Millstadt Post Office building was dedicated at the southeast corner of Main and White streets.
1962, July 1 - Westview Baptist Church of Belleville opened a mission in the old post office building on East Washington Street. Rev. Steve Latta was the first pastor.
1963, May 30 - the Veteran’s War Memorial was dedicated at the Fire Company Park on South Jefferson.
1966, October 17 - the Millstadt Jaycees were organized with 24 charter members. Don Speichinger was the group’s first president.
1969, April 12 - the Municipal Building and Millstadt Library were dedicated at the northwest corner of Laurel and Main streets and cost $97,413.00. The site was the former “Centreville Brewery” owned by Daniel Schuff in the 1860’s and 1870’s.
1969, October 18 - the Millstadt Enterprise newspaper was bought by George J. Santner.
1971, October 10 - Greenbrier Shelter Care Home was opened at 415 Veterans Drive. The name was later changed to Millhaven Care Center. It closed in 1990.
1972, June 4 - the Gateway Baptist Church building was dedicated at the southeast corner of Laurel and Veterans Drive.
1973, November 3 - Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the Millstadt Swimming Pool. The final cost was $162,000 and it opened on June 30, 1974.
1974, July 22 - Citizens Savings opened at 11 West Washington and later moved into a new building at 217 West Washington. In Jan. 1984 it became part of Illini Federal Savings & Loan and later a First Financial Bank.
1974, October 20 - Trinity Lutheran Church celebrated the 125^th anniversary of its founding.
1975, April - H. W. Gossard Company closed its Millstadt factory in the 300 block of West Washington after almost 44 years of operation under various names and owners.
1977, May 14 - the Millstadt Lion’s Club held a charter celebration meeting with 43 members. William Sisk was the charter president.
1977, September 17 - groundbreaking ceremony for the new fire department building located at the northeast corner of South Jefferson and White streets. The building was dedicated on October 28, 1979.
1980, February 1 - the Millstadt Ambulance Service started operations in the old fire department building on South Jefferson..
1985 - Zion United Church of Christ began a year long celebration of its 150^th Anniversary.
1987, August 22 - the Father Freund Parish Center was dedicated at St. James Catholic Church. It was built in the 400 block of West Madison Street on the previous site of Trinity Lutheran Church.
1987, September 5 & 6 - Millstadt’s annual ‘Homecoming’ was held celebrating the 150^th Anniversary of the founding of Millstadt and the 75^th Anniversary of the founding of the Millstadt Commercial Club.
1987, September 27 - the name of the Millstadt Enterprise newspaper was changed to the Millstadt Enterprise Journal.
1992, May 24 - the dedication of the new addition to the Millstadt Village Park.
1995, April 12 - the first meeting of the Millstadt Sister Cities Organization was held.
1996, March 31 - the Millstadt Liederkranz building built in 1892 was demolished.
1998, July 4 - the former Millstadt Creamery building was destroyed by fire.
1999, June - the Millstadt Sister Cities Organization formed an official pact with the town of Gross Bieberau in Germany. Many Millstadt residents can trace their ancestry to settlers who came here from Gross Bieberau in the 1830’s and 1840’s.
1999, October 24 - Trinity Lutheran Church celebrated the 150^th Anniversary of its founding.
1999, November 23 - the Millstadt Historical Society held its first meeting.
2001, September 15 - St. James Catholic Church celebrated the 150^th Anniversary of its founding.
2004, June - seven new subdivisions were being developed in Millstadt.
2005, December - Zion church resigned from the United Church of Christ and once again took the name: Zion Evangelical Church.

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