SCCGS has posted an 1876 history of St Clair county first published that year by Edward Wm. West and committee. The direct link is here http://www.compu-type.net/rengen/stclair/1876hist.htm The history was first reprinted in St. Clair County Genealogical Society Quarterly volume 3 number 1, Spring 1980. It is reproduced here in its entirety and provides a glimpse of county life with notes about agriculture, breweries, distilleries, grains and fruits, mills, mining, newspapers, religious denominations, schools, transportation, and watercourses. Some "facts" are not quite right, a few names are misspelled, and the prose is typical of the time. Sources cited by the original committee include _My Life and Times_ by Govenor John Reynolds [known to have a few factual errors as well]; the _County Atlas_ [1874] ; the _History of Belleville_, by George A. Harvey, and the _Annals Of the West_, published by Dr. John Mason Peck For those new to the site, be sure to explore the home page link for database indexes that may help your research. Diane