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Red Bud
Located approximately 40 miles
southeast of St. Louis on the Great River Road (Illinois Route 3), Red Bud
is a predominantly farming community of German descent. Compared with its
sister cities in Randolph County, Red Bud is a relative newcomer. The first
settler in the area was Preston Bickley who arrived in 1820 constructed a
little log cabin, almost 120 years after Kaskaskia was founded. The first
school in the area was held in an abandoned pole cabin in 1824, and the
first teacher was Samuel Crozier, the father of one of the founders of Red
Bud. In 1838 the town of Prairieville was laid out just south of the present
town, but it was quickly replaced by activity at the present site of
downtown Red Bud. A store was opened
in 1841, and soon other businesses began to operate as more settlers came to
the area. R.D. Durfee, Samuel Crozier and William Simmons, along with other
prominent settlers, laid out additions for a town in 1847 and the first lots
were sold at a public auction. Red Bud was officially platted in 1848 and
derives its name from the Red Bud, a native species of prairie flora that
blooms in the spring and early summer. The new village grew
and prospered and attracted a large number of German immigrants from the
mid-1850s on. Red Bud was an important stop on the stagecoach route between
St. Louis and Chester. Red Bud received its charter in 1867 and incorporated
as a city in March of 1875. The city became an important station on the
stagecoach route between St. Louis, Belleville, Kaskaskia and Chester. The
city continued to grow, especially with the arrival of the railroad in 1872.
However, since the 1890's little has changed in terms of the purpose of the
town or its population. In 1978, the Red Bud Historic District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as an example of a 19th century crossroads commercial town. Roughly bounded by Main and Market streets the District has buildings that illustrate Federal and Italianate styles, among others. |
