Alton

Alton , city (1990 pop. 32,905), Madison co., SW Ill., on bluffs of the Mississippi River 5 mi (8.1 km) above its confluence with the Missouri; inc. 1837. Alton is a shipping and industrial center, and there are oil refineries nearby. Food products, lime, crushed stone, lumber, crystal, paperboard, maechinery, and steel are produced. Riverboat gambling, a redeveloped riverfront, and antique stores attract tourists. The Clark Bridge across the Mississippi connects Alton with West Alton, Mo., and the St. Louis metropolitan area. Of interest are a monument to the abolitionist Elijah Lovejoy , who was killed by a mob in Alton; a tablet marking the site of the last Lincoln-Douglas debate (1858); and a cemetery where many captured Confederate soldiers are buried. Alton suffered extensive flood damage in 1993.

Alton, New Zealand, UK, USA 1. USA (Illinois): founded in 1817 by Rufus Easton and named after his son.2. There are at least nine other Altons in the USA, several in the UK, and one in New Zealand. The various English Altons are all associated with a farmstead, tūn, in one way or another.

Alton, usually ‘farmstead at the source of a river’, OE ǣwiell + tūn: Alton Hants. Aultone 1086 (DB). Alton Pancras Dorset. Awultune 1012, Altone 1086 (DB), Aweltone Pancratii 1226. Affix from the dedication of the church to St Pancras. Alton Priors Wilts. Aweltun 825, Auuiltone 1086 (DB), Aulton Prioris 1199. Affix from its early possession by the Priory of St Swithin at Winchester.

However other Altons have a different origin: Alton Derbys. Alton 1296. ‘Old farmstead’. OE ald + tūn. Alton Staffs. Elvetone 1086 (DB). ‘Farmstead of a man called *Ælfa’. OE pers. name + tūn.