History
1600
The seam of coal mined in Shiloh was first discovered by the French Explorer, LaSalle in 1679. He was the first recorded explorer to use it for fuel during his trip on the Mississippi River. There are few traces of the coal mines and railroads which originally led to Shiloh being incorporated as a Village in 1905.
1700
Silver Creek which drains the eastern part of Shiloh was named for the silver ore found there by Phillip Renault in 1719. The mine was later abandoned because of hostile Indians. In the Shiloh Cemetery are memorials to a Revolutionary Soldier, Risdon Moore, and several Minutemen. At one time Shiloh was known as "Three Springs", because there were three abundant springs at the foot of a hill where church camp meetings were held. Geological changes have caused two springs to be eliminated and the other one is no longer a gusher. Today this spot is behind the Shiloh Methodist Church.
1800
The first one room schoolhouse in St. Clair County was a one story log house established in Shiloh in 1811. In 1850, 20 pupils were enrolled in the Shiloh School. On August 14, 1836 the 1st library was located in the home of Dr. Schott and had a collection of ninety-three volumes. At the end of the year it had grown to 346 volumes. On February 22, 1839 the library was incorporated by the General Assembly of Illinois with papers signed by Governor Theo Carlin. The collection had grown to 1,906 volumes. In April of 1842 Charles Dickens passed through Shiloh on his way to the Looking Glass Prairie near Lebanon. A toll gate was erected in 1886 on the newly "paved" road between Lebanon Avenue and Hartman Lane (Belleville to Shiloh).
1900
On June 20, 1905, Shiloh was organized into a Village. They elected the first of seventeen Mayors. The present Mayor is James A. Vernier, II. In June 1917, the War Department investigated a mile square field near Shiloh for training aviators. Ten thousand dollars was appropriated by Congress for construction and 2,000 laborers and carpenters immediately went to work constructing an installation. The field was named in honor of Corporal Frank S. Scott who died during an experimental flight. In September 1917, the first four airplanes arrived. Major George Reinberg was the first commanding officer. By 1919, Scott Field had trained approximately 500 pilots for WWI. In 1920, the installation was converted to the headquarters for the training of airplane pilots. The US Government in March 1920 purchased the 640 acres for $170.00 an acre.
2000
A "significant archaeological find" was discovered at the Frank Scott Parkway East Extension in Shiloh. The traces of twenty-two houses and quite a few huts are believed to date back to the Mississippian era. This era occurred between 1000 A.D. to 1400 A.D. Broken pots, stone tools and animal bones were found at the site.
