Bethalto

Coal, grain and trains defined the early history of Bethalto, but schools, lights and flights sum it up today. The village of about 9,200 people bumps up against transportation hubs Illinois Route 255 and St. Louis Regional Airport, but it offers plenty to keep residents within the community. You won’t have to wait more than a few weeks for its streets or parks to teem with activity thanks to the work of Bethalto Spirt. For 30 years this nonprofit has put on events that stoke creativity and community throughout the village. These escapades include an annual Christmas village of illuminated, glass cottage-enclosed winter wonderland scenes, as well as a Victorian-themed Christmas Walk among clusters of carolers and wafts of roasting chestnuts.

These events are concentrated in downtown Bethalto, where 1800s homes from the village’s early era still stand. However minimal traditional and ranch homes from the mid-20th century are more common. Meanwhile new subdivisions are under development on the north side of town. Even further north, 3 or more miles from downtown, homes begin to space out into acre-plus lots, Landmark Realty-Bethalto Managing Broker Scott Dodson says. “There’s an opportunity there to pick up some acreage. Most people, that’s what they want.” While these homes can fetch $500,000 or more, the more common two-bedroom houses built in the ‘50s and ‘60s are likely to be priced around $100,000, while three-bedroom new builds start in the low $300,000s.

Residents tend to appreciate the local public schools, says Dodson. Bethalto Community Unit School District is structured so that a student attends five different schools between prekindergarten and 12th grade, but all those campuses are within 4 miles of each other, spread throughout the immediate Bethalto area. Children start at Bethalto East Primary School, advancing to Parkside Primary School, Meadowbrook Intermediate School and Trimpe Middle School. They’ll encounter some top-notch educators along the way, as the teachers of each school earn a grade of B or better from Niche. Students attend Civic Memorial High School starting in ninth grade; Civic Memorial is labeled a commendable school by the Illinois State Board of Education, which means there are no underperforming student groups at the school.

One of the prettiest walks in the city is found in the center of town in the Bethalto Arboretum. Once the path of a railroad, it has been reclaimed by bark, leaves and grass, which create a corridor of crabapples, oaks and 80 other species of trees. Enter the arboretum’s east end, and you’ll exit feet away from the splash pads, skate ramps and baseball diamond of Central Park.

A block from Central Park sits Laux Brickhouse Grille, a laid-back eatery where you can pass the time munching on Buffalo wings at the bar or digging into a plate of crispy cod on the patio or. If the restaurant’s arsenal of TVs isn’t enough to keep you entertained while you wait for your food, take a few swings on Laux’s golf simulator. Bethalto Drive on the south end of town is where most of the city’s other restaurants and businesses are concentrated. Swing by when you need to pick up items from Ace Hardware or Schnucks supermarket.

St. Louis Regional Airport just south of Bethalto isn’t the biggest airport in the metro; that would be St. Louis Lambert International Airport in Missouri. It isn’t even the region’s second-biggest airport, but Dodson says the facility nevertheless is a critical component of the community. “One thing that’s a big draw is the St. Louis Regional Airport. There’s quite a bit of commerce there. It’s one of the larger local airports, and it can handle quite a bit of traffic.” St. Louis Regional Airport facilitates air traffic for the military, Fortune 500 corporations and private aviators, and it supports 1,500 local jobs. More than an economic engine, the airport since 1996 has attracted crowds to the festivities of the annual Wings-N-Wheels Fly-In. On this weekend planes don’t roll up and down the tarmac. Instead it’s covered with the glistening blue and red steel of a car show’s hot rods, filled with the sounds of live music and overtaken by the stalls of a farmers market.

Written By

Hannah Rainey

Photography Contributed By

Kody Martin

Video By

Brian Bernhard