Millstadt offers small-town charm near major job centers
Millstadt stands amid two employment hubs, 15 miles east of St. Louis and 17 miles west of Scott Air Force Base, where more than 15,000 military members and civilian workers are employed. Despite the concentration of jobs a short drive away, the 7,000-person village retains a small-town atmosphere with beloved local businesses. It also boasts a strong school system that attracts new residents, RE/MAX Preferred Realtor Christina Karr says.
Homes range from historic bungalows to newer builds
Millstadt homeowners may live in a century-old bungalow a short walk from downtown’s restaurants and brewery, a restored ranch home that sprawls two lots and provides plenty of living and garage space or a 2000s neo-eclectic house in subdivisions around the community’s periphery. Karr says price tags for entry-level homes usually hover between $160,000 and $180,000, jumping to the $300,000s and $400,000s for larger homes in higher-end, decade-old subdivisions. However there are few options in between, she adds. Millstadt features 1.1 months of home inventory, a sign the village is like many communities across the country that face inventory crunches that often gives sellers the upper hand in home deals.
Local schools include parent events and career prep programs
The town is home to the Millstadt Consolidated Community School District, a well-rated public educational pipeline for elementary and middle schoolers. For example Millstadt Primary Center, where children go from prekindergarten until second grade, gets a grade of B from Niche. Students spend third through eighth grades at Millstadt Consolidated School, a B-plus-rated school where the quality of the academics and the teachers are rated even higher at an A-minus. After eighth grade students head 6 miles northeast of Millstadt to take classes at Belleville West High School, part of the Belleville Township School District. However schools in Belleville are no less heralded. Another B-plus-rated school, Belleville West allows seniors to shorten their class schedules, work jobs and earn school credit while doing so through the Office Occupations program.
Village Park hosts sports, swimming and a fall chili cook-off
North of Millstadt Consolidated School sits Village Park, Millstadt’s primary community green space. Intermingled among the park’s baseball fields is a public swimming pool, shaded pavilions and a play are featuring a rocket slide that kids can climb into before sliding back to Earth. Once a year the park is the stage for one of Millstadt’s greatest competitions: the BBQ-Chili Cook-Off. The annual culinary competition pits residents against each other as they compete for thousands of dollars in cash prizes awarded to whoever whips up the best chili, ribs, snoots and pork steaks.
Locals shop and dine at longtime family-run spots
Head to Ott’s Tavern downtown for a bite before you explore the boutiques sprinkled throughout Millstadt’s town center. Join the weekend crowd that often gathers at the restaurant’s outdoor picnic tables to enjoy pyramids of golden, fried fish piled atop white bread. Of course it isn’t the fish itself that’s made Ott’s a smash hit with locals, says Karr. “It’s their batter that they’re known for. The recipe was passed down to the current owners. People come from St. Louis to get it.” If you crave fried chicken instead, pick up some pieces from Millstadt IGA while you’re doing your weekly shopping at the grocer operated by the Norrenberns family, who have been in the grocery business in southwestern Illinois since 1930.
![Alex Soderstrom]()
Written By
Alex Soderstrom
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Photography Contributed By
Joseph Davis
