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St. Clair County, Illinois
St.
Clair’s proximity to the city of St. Louis makes the southwestern
Illinois county a popular destination for day-tripping Missourians. The
county was organized in 1790 – the first county established in Illinois
from the Northwest Territory. It was named after the first governor,
Arthur St. Clair.
Some of the cities in St. Clair County include, Caseyville, East Saint
Louis, Lebanon, , National City, Saint Libory and Washington Park. The
county seat is
Belleville, and is located 15 miles southeast of St. Louis near the
Mississippi River and the Missouri state line. It was founded by mostly
German settlers, and the architecture of the city and the history it
exemplifies are distinctly German.
The area has a variety of golf courses, and Belleville Area College. Other
can’t-miss sites in Belleville:
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Lady of the Snows. The
nation’s largest outdoor shrine sits on 200 acres just 15 minutes from
downtown St. Louis.
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Victorian House Museum. Built
in 1866, this adaptation of a Greek revival home was built by Moritz
Dobschultz, a German immigrant who became very prosperous in Belleville.
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Cathedral of Saint Peter.
Founded in 1842 and dedicated in 1866, it is modeled after the Cathedral
of Exeter, England. The English Gothic style of architecture utilized
high, pointed arches aiming toward heaven. This type of architecture is
actually a forerunner of today's modern skyscrapers.
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