Collinsville Establishes Historic District to Preserve Downtown Charm

The City of Collinsville approved an ordinance to create a historic preservation district in downtown Collinsville.

The purpose of the historic preservation district is to preserve, protect, and enhance the buildings in downtown Collinsville. Most of the buildings in the downtown area were built between 1910 and 1920.

Ted Wright owns the Newspaper Museum downtown and is the chair of the new Collinsville Historic Preservation Committee. He said he thinks it's a good thing to keep the buildings preserved to not only bring more people to Collinsville but also show people what the town was like decades ago.

"To me, it’s natural. I want to preserve Collinsville as it was when I grew up, and the new kids coming up today, we’d like for them to have the same opportunity," Wright said.

Wright said there is a lot of history in Collinsville and the hope is to eventually receive some grants through the city that would help maintain these buildings.

"After the smelters played out in the 20s, it kind of faded away. So, we’ve not had a big industry, but our buildings are still here. They are all just about over 100 years old, and we'd like to keep it like it is," Wright said.

The historic preservation district includes most of downtown as well as 9th Street to the library on 13th Street.