Ilasco Historic District - Ilasco, MO - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

County of site: Ralls County
Location of site: MO-79, S. of Hannibal
Listed on NRHP: 2016
Created: 1903

"ILASCO was created in 1903. Large numbers of Romanian, Slovak, Italian, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Polish, Croatian and other immigrants joined native-born residents drawn here by jobs at the Atlas Portland Cement Plant. ILASCO through its churches, schools, folklore, languages, fraternal societies, cuisines and daily life, left a rich working class cultural heritage that made it unique in Missouri. The community's name is an acronym for some of the cement manufacturing ingredients (Iron, Lime, Alumina, Silica, Calcium and Oxygen), ILASCO was converted into a company town in 1921 and dissolved in 1963." ~ Ilasco Historic Marker, dated October 1999

"The Ilasco Historic District in Ralls County, Missouri, is located about 3.6 miles southeast of Hannibal on Ilasco Trail, south of Highway 79. The approximately 0.7-acre historic district has a rural character and is comprised of two contributing buildings and one contributing structure; these are a jail, a one-story commercial building with two storefronts, and a Pratt pony truss bridge. Built in 1909 by the Pauley Jail Building Company, the jail is a one-story concrete building with two cells (each cell capable of sleeping up to four inmates) and a shallow front hall. The one-story commercial brick building is estimated to have been constructed in 1909. It has a flat roof, short front parapet, and was designed with two storefronts and rear living quarters. The storefronts have traditionally housed grocery stores and a tavern, and they retain their historic design. The north elevation of the building has a fading mural for Al’s Tavern, while a painted advertisement for Pepsi-Cola is maintained on the south elevation. The Pratt pony truss steel bridge was constructed by the Stupp Brothers Bridge and Iron Company in 1910 and crosses over Marble Creek to allow access to the commercial building and the jail. These two buildings and one structure represent the heart of what was once a thriving center of public life and business within the immigrant town of Ilasco. Ilasco was formed by the multitude of European immigrants that arrived at the turn of the twentieth century to work at the Atlas Portland Cement Company. The cement company facility and the residences, businesses, churches, and schools constructed to serve Atlas’ immigrant labor force comprised the town. Prior to World War I, Ilasco was home to as many as 3,000 people; the majority were immigrants from Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The town of Ilasco was never officially incorporated. Today, the majority of Ilasco’s historic built environment is gone, having been demolished to make way for the re-routing of Highway 79 in the 1960s. Even though the town is no longer inhabited, many former residents of Ilasco continue to attend church in the area and maintain the remaining buildings. The three resources comprising the Ilasco Historic District retain integrity and convey significance under Criterion A in the area of Ethnic Heritage." ~ NRHP Nomination Form