LeClaire Historic District
About this property
LeClaire Historic District is a historic district located in Edwardsville, Illinois. The community was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 8, 1979. N. O. Nelson, the owner of the Nelson Manufacturing Company, established the town between 1890 and 1895 on donated land. A factory complex was built for his company to provide jobs for the residents of Leclaire. Each building had working electricity, a sprinkler system, and featured large arched windows to provide natural light for the workers. Nelson planned the town to be an intentional community inspired by ideals such as Edward Bellamy's novel Looking Backward and the Ethical Culture movement. The community included an academy which offered free adult education and reading rooms, which was inspired by a self-culture hall in St. Louis. Nelson also established a profit sharing system in the community. The system was derived from a concept used at the Maison LeClaire in Paris, from which the community took its name. As LeClaire was an open community, its residents were not all company employees, nor were employees required to live in the community. However, the company provided utilities and public facilities to LeClaire residents. Journalist Nellie Bly compared the community favorably to Pullman in Chicago, and Ida Tarbell also wrote about the community. The historic LeClaire water tower, also known as 'Tin Man,' was constructed in 1931. By 1993, it was no longer providing water service. In 1933, LeClaire was annexed within the Edwardsville city limits.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about LeClaire Historic District
This page lists LeClaire Historic District. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was LeClaire Historic District listed on the National Register?
LeClaire Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 7, 1979.
What type of historic resource is LeClaire Historic District?
LeClaire Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for LeClaire Historic District?
The period of significance for LeClaire Historic District is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near LeClaire Historic District?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near LeClaire Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Madison County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Madison County.
Explore MadisonCounty ›More historic places in Illinois
Browse all historic places in Illinois.
View Illinoishistoric sites ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near LeClaire Historic District will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.