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Title. Double click me.

a little photo history lesson ...

Collinwood Subdivision ~ Collinsville, Illinois

I recently framed 3 photos of the Collinwood Subdivision. This color photo shows the subdivision as it stands today. This photo was recently taken for the Collinsville Historical Museum by Mark Ahlvers using a drone. The blue water of Pine Lake is visible in the upper right-hand section of the image.

Now let’s step back in time, the year - 1914. The Collinwood Subdivision is the St. Louis Refining and Smelting Company, a thriving business with workers traveling from St. Louis and other surrounding communities to their jobs at the plant.

The first photograph is an aerial view of the plant taken from the same location as the color photograph. Pine Lake is visible in the upper right-hand corner. This photo was taken in 1914 by Photographer Rissi.

In order to get a good aerial view of the plant, Mr. Rissi climbed the smokestack, which towered over 300 feet into the air (see the tall smokestack located on the left in the next photo? That’s the one).

Apparently the base of this 300 foot smokestack was so large, it could not be removed when the subdivision was built. It was left at the site, buried underground, under the road, now Raintree Trail.

The map shows the layout of the plant. There was also a roominghouse on the grounds for the workers, who traveled from the St. Louis region, so they could live on site during the work week.

visit ...

The Collinsville Historical Museum to learn more about the rich history of our community:   www.collinsvillemuseum.org

I would love to feature photos of things that I have framed for you. Just email the image to me along with a little story, and I will publish it in the “archives” section of the website. It really is a lot of fun to share your projects with others; and others love to see what’s been done.

My email address remains: artloft@charter.net

 Copyright 2015 ~ 2024

The Art Loft Gallery, Ltd.

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