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EAST ST. LOUIS, precinct, formerly called Illinoistown, occupies the extreme north-western corner of St. Clair county, and was organized as a township the 6th day of June, 1820, the boundaries being as follows: Beginning at the bluff on the Madison county line; thence west on said line to the Mississippi river: thence with the Mississippi to the Cahokia line on the same; thence with said line eastward to the bluff; thence along the bluff northward to the place of beginning. By order of the county commissioners’ court, September 14th, 1821, Illinoistown and Cahokia were made one election precinct, with the voting place at Augustus Pensoneau's residence in Cahokia. In 1851, Illinoistown became a separate voting precinct, and French Village was named as the place of holding the election. Again, in 1857, it was divided into two separate parts, respectively called Illinoistown and French Village precincts, the division line running due west from south-west corner of section 15, in township No. 2, north range, No.9 west, to the north-west corner of section 21, same township, thence south on the west line of section 21, to the south west corner thereof, thence west on the section line to the Mississippi through Cahokia precinct, from which a strip of about one-half a mile in breadth is taken from the northern part and annexed to Illinoistown precinct. The foregoing are the boundaries that the precinct embraces at this time. In 1866, the precinct appears under the name of East St. Louis, and that of Illinoistown dropped. This change of name is not made a matter of record, and the presumption is that by common consent, or usage, it assumed the name of its leading town, East St. Louis, which by a vote of the people of the corporation in 1861, gave it its present title. At the time of its organization, a strip of heavy timber about half a mile wide, extended south from the present town of Brooklyn to the village of Cahokia. What is now the city of East St: Louis was mainly covered with heavy timbers of oak, walnut, elm, etc., and was a favorite stamping ground for the hunter and the trapper.
from pages 298–308 of St. Clair County History, (Philadelphia: Brink, McDonough, and Company, 1881). This history does have some errors in it so it is prudent to confirm the statements below with other sources closer to the actual event.
Precincts were those areas of the county that later became townships in 1884. Precincts defined the boundaries of polling districts for local and state elections. Justices of the Peace were elected for each precinct and carried out some civil legal functions. For example, a Justice of the Peace could peform a marriage and hear legal disputes between two parties. While all marriages were to be recorded at the county level, the J.P. was only required to keep a docket of minor civil disputes, not a full record of the proceedings. Very few dockets survive to this day.
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Tennis legend Jimmy Connors was born in East St. Louis, and grew up near Frank Holten State Park. Connors' father was a toll-taker on the Veterans Bridge, now the Martin Luther King Bridge. Connors' grandfather was a one-time mayor of East St. Louis, as well.
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Track legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee was born and raised in East St. Louis.
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Track gold medalist and brother of Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Al Joyner, was born and raised in East St. Louis. He is also the former husband of Florence Griffith-Joyner
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Current Illinois Senator Richard Durbin is a native of East St. Louis.
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Jazz legend Miles Davis was born in Alton but grew up in East St. Louis.
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Blues legends Albert King and B.B. King have ties to the city.
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NFL Former NFL All-Pro Tight-end Kellen Winslow was born in St. Louis, but raised in East St. Louis.
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Poet-laureate Eugene Redmond is a native of East St. Louis.
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Byron Cox, Former NFL player, is a native of East St. Louis.
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Darius Miles, Current NBA player, is a native of East St. Louis.
A dancer, choreographer, anthropologist and author, Katherine Dunham introduced U.S. and European audiences to Caribbean- and African-based dance movements. East St. Louis is home to the Katherine Dunham Museum, which houses collections of African and Caribbean folk and contemporary art and items documenting the life and works of Katherine Dunham. It is operated by the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, a non-profit multi-disciplinary arts organization founded by Dunham. The organization promotes and preserves Dunham's legacy of anthropological writings, films and works of visual arts. The Centers also operate a year-round arts training program for children age 6-17 and an annual two-week seminar in the Dunham Technique through its Institute for Inter-cultural Communication, which attracts dancers, choreographers and scholars from around the world. All of the programs emphasize Dunham's unique concept of "humanization and socialization of individuals and communities through the arts."
One of the great silent screen stars, Lillian Gish was nominated for an Oscar in 1946 for "Duel in the Sun" and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 1984.
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Reginald Hudlin wrote and directed the 1990's films "House Party", as well as directing "Serving Sara," and "The Ladies Man."
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Ike Turner met Tina Turner in 1956 at the Club Manhattan in East St. Louis. She then joined his band and they married.
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