Hartford is a small industrial community located in
southwestern Illinois, twenty minutes from downtown St. Louis, and at the
confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi River. Although there is no
positive documentation, the name of the town may have come from the fact that
deer, sometimes known as 'harts," crossed at a "ford," or shallow
point along the nearby river. The area which is now Hartford was once open,
level valley farmlands, except for rather dense wooded area along the river. The
full, fertile, level valley soil encouraged crop growth and many people raised
an abundance of potatoes and were affectionately known as "Spud
Miners".
In 1910 the residents consisted of a saloon keeper, a
telegrapher, section hands, several farm families and their farm hands. The
first house in the area of modern day Hartford was a log ranch house occupied by
the family of H. J. Bowman. In March of 1920, the people living in the area
voted that the village of Hartford should be incorporated. The Village of
Hartford started as a rail, river, road and commercial oriented community with
three rail lines and the heavily traveled Route 3 crossing the area.
For visitors traveling north, Hartford is the beginning of
the Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Byway. A new interpretative center opened
in December of 2002 at the Lewis
& Clark State Historic Site. The center covers Camp River DuBois, the winter
encampment of 1803-1804 that is considered the point of departure of their famous expedition. The Village
of Hartford residents and businesses have come together and formed the Citizens
for Lewis and Clark Development at Site #1 to prepare the community for the
Bicentennial. An observation tower is scheduled for completion in December, 2003 so visitors can view the
panorama of the area where the Mississippi and Missouri rivers meet.
Cycling enthusiasts can make use of the new Confluence
Bikeway which will connects with the Sam Vadalabene Bike Trail and Southern
Illinois University at Edwardsville via New Poag Road. This trail ultimately
link to downtown St. Louis. Nature lovers will be able to use a proposed nature
trail at Lewis and Clark Site #1.
