Located in City Park, the Centennial Monument was erected as the principal feature of the Madison County Centennial celebration of 1912. The sculptor, Charles Mulligan of Chicago, worked on site in Edwardsville on two blocks of Georgian marble. The 16-foot, 30-ton sculpture represents the balancing of the four cardinal points of civilization and progress. The female figures represent: Wisdom (book and pen), Justice (sword and two pillars), Plenty (fruit and grain), and Virtue (veiled maiden). There are two inscriptions on this monument.

One inscription on the west side says:
Commemorating a Century of Achievement
Madison County Founded September 4, 1812
Erected by the State of Illinois

The inscription on the east side says:
In Grateful memory of the early Settlers
Who by Courage, Industry and Endurance
Transformed a Wilderness Into A
Land of Order Peace and Plenty

Governor Charles Deneen returned for the dedication of the monument and Mary Elizabeth Edwards, a descendant of Governor Ninian Edwards, unveiled the model.

Inside the small park at the corner of St. Louis Street and Vandalia Street stands the bronze statue of former Illinois Governor Ninian Edwards, the City’s namesake.

Also on site is a lithograph detailing the policies and actions of Governor Edwards. He served as the first and only governor of the Illinois Territory from 1809 to 1818, when the territory gained statehood. He was then one of the first two United States senators from the State of Illinois from 1818 to 1824, and the third governor of Illinois from 1826 to 1830. The park also features a beautiful fountain, benches, and a flag.

This historic district provides outstanding examples of late 19th and early 20th century architecture. Located on St. Louis Street from West Street to Rose Avenue.

Adjacent to the old Leclaire schoolhouse, now the Edwardsville Children's Museum, N.O. Nelson is honored with a fountain known as the N.O. Nelson Memorial Fountain.

One side of the Missouri granite fountain has a bronze statue of a young boy sitting on a turkey holding a seashell that spouts water. Facing the boy are two bronze frogs on lily pads spouting water into a basin. The other side has a bronze tablet with a relief of Nelson, noting the years he lived, 1844-1922, and an inscription that states, "In memory of Nels O. Nelson, original thinker, valiant worker, devoted leader in the faith and practice of service to his fellowman, pioneer of profit-sharing and cooperation in America.

Erected in 1923 by the Leclaire and St. Louis employees of the N.O. Nelson Mfg. Co., of which he was the organizer, the president and guiding spirit from 1878 to 1918." The fountain was dedicated May 24, 1924. The sculptor was Victor S. Holm and the architect was Gabriel Ferrand, both of Washington University in St. Louis.

This complex of buildings, built in 1895 and designed by St. Louis architect A.E. Cameron, housed all the manufacturing functions of the N.O. Nelson Company. Special consideration was given to worker comfort and safety.

Large, arched windows and rooftop monitors provided light and ventilation, and a sprinkler system was installed for fire safety. Each building housed a single manufacturing process and was equipped with electrical lighting. The buildings were restored in the early part of the 21st century and designated the historic N.O. Nelson campus of Lewis and Clark Community College.

The campus is surrounded by Leclaire and Wolf Streets and South Brown and Hale Avenues.

Located near the intersection of South Main Street and Schwarz Street, five pillars each bear a plaque commemorating a former governor of the state of Illinois who lived in Edwardsville.

This monument is in downtown Edwardsville’s City Park facing South Buchanan Street.

The memorial commemorates area soldiers who have given their lives while in service to our country. There are more than 80 soldiers listed from Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Hamel, Moro, Worden, Midway, Dorsey, Carpenter and the surrounding rural area.

Their stories of heroism and tragedy must never be forgotten. Each soldier is listed by branch of service, rank, full name, date of birth, and date of death.

Located on State Route 157 south of Lewis Road in Valley View Cemetery, this concrete memorial honors Edward Coles, the second governor of Illinois from 1822 to 1826.

While governor, Coles fought to keep Illinois a free state. The memorial was erected by the state of Illinois in 1922.

Under the bronze is a relief portrait of Coles by sculptor Leon Hermant. The inscription reads: "Commemorating the career of Edward Coles who by steadfastness and courage kept slavery out of the constitution of Illinois."

Located in City Park, this monument was erected by the Firemen’s Association to commemorate the secretary, treasurer, and president of the Illinois Firemen’s Association.

The inscription reads, “His first thought – Service to his fellow man.”

Goshen Road was one of the main arteries of travel in the early 1800s, when Illinois was frontier country. The road ran in a northwesterly direction from Shawneetown to Edwardsville -- a distance of more than 150 miles.

Shawneetown and Edwardsville were two of the leading commercial towns in Illinois. The marker is located at 6725 Goshen Road.

Located on North Main Street at Liberty Street by the Mannie Jackson Center, this marker was moved to the corner of the lot in 1999. The plaque reads:
Governor Coles and Slavery
Site of the courthouse where in 1824 political enemies convicted Governor Coles of illegally freeing his slaves.
"To preserve to a continuous line of generations that liberty obtained by the valor of our forefathers, we must make provisions for the moral and intellectual improvement of those who are to follow."
City of Edwardsville, Illinois State Historical Society 1999

This marker is located at 155 N. Main Street to the right of the Main Street entrance to the Madison County Courthouse.

It commemorates the site of the speech given by Abraham Lincoln on September 11, 1858, while he was campaigning for United States senator.

In 1844, Madison County began a program of caring for the poor.

Ten years later the county purchased this property, and the first permanent buildings were constructed during the Civil War. The purpose of the facility was to provide care for the able-bodied poor, the blind, the sick and the mentally ill, who helped work the farm. In addition, a cemetery on the property provided a final resting place for the indigent of Madison County. The cemetery remains on the west side of the property.

The marker is located on West Schwarz Street, west of South Main Street on the grounds of the City of Edwardsville's Public Safety Building at 333 S. Main Street.

This tract of ground [Lusk Cemetery] was the first cemetery in the City of Edwardsville.

Buried here are the soldiers of our early wars and the pioneer settlers of this community.

The marker is at the intersection of Oak Lane and Randle Street, on the right when traveling south on Oak Lane. Lusk Park was established as a cemetery in the early 1800s. Most of the grave markers were relocated to nearby Woodlawn Cemetery beginning around 1820.

Today the area is a community park. However, a few grave markers remain.

The Mississippi River Festival ("MRF") began as a pioneering experiment in regional cooperation between Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the St. Louis Symphony.

The Symphony was invited to establish residence on the university campus and offer a summer series of concerts and cultural programs in an outdoor amphitheater constructed on this site. From June 1969 through August 1980, nearly 1.5 million people attended live concerts here performed by some of the best artists of the day.

Crowds found their seats on the grass or sat beneath the spacious "MRF" tent. The marker is located in front of an open field near the north end of the SIUE campus.

The remnants of Pogue Store mark the center of Edwardsville's business district more than two centuries ago.

In 1818, when Robert Pogue built his store, it was located directly across the street from what was Courthouse Square. Pogue's was a general store and fur trading post that sold supplies to early settlers as well as to Native Americans who came to the store to collect annuities in the form of supplies provided in the 1819 Treaty of Edwardsville.

The one-story brick building had numerous additions over the years so that it once extended from Main Street to Second Street. The store was also the land grant office for Madison County, which at the time served about half of present-day Illinois. As Edwardsville's first post office, the store also functioned as a bank where monies were collected from federal land sales.

The marker is located at 1201 N. Main Street. Locals will remember the property (where the marker stands) as the place where Rusty's Restaurant sat for nearly 50 years.

This Federal-style home was built in 1836 for Dr. John Weir (1809-1878) and his first wife, Hepzibah Damon (1810-1838). Weir, both a surgeon and physician, also served as doctor for the Madison County Poor Farm.

Weir was a popular orator who often spoke in support of temperance and abolitionist causes. The marker is in front of the Madison County Historical Museum located at 801 N. Main Street.