Wood River, IL Cash Advance and Title Loans

Things to Know About Wood River, IL

The city of Wood River, Illinois claims its place in American history for being the official starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In 1803, Lewis and Clark began their journey at the mouth of the Dubois River, which is known today as the Wood River. In the beginning, Wood River remained sparsely populated until 1908 when Standard Oil opened a refinery in the city. With the influx of refinery workers, the town began to flourish and grown. By the 1920s, Wood River was one of the fastest growing towns in the country. The city grew so fast, in fact, that there were more workers than houses available. To resolve this issue, Standard Oil purchased and constructed what were known as catalog homes for their workers. These houses can still be seen throughout the community.

In 1926, the Wood River built the world’s largest swimming pool. The record stood for 60 years until the pool was eventually replaced with the current structure, the Wood River Aquatic Center. The Aquatic Center has two twin waterslides that flow into a 50-meter lap pool, a diving well and a wading pool. Wood River is also home to the Wood River Museum & Visitors Center, which includes a replica of an early 20th century kitchen amongst its various exhibits. Camp DuBois was the camp where Louis and Clark set up for the winter before setting out on their journey. The campsite still stands today where volunteers carry out re-enactments such as black powder shooting, tomahawk throwing, and blacksmithing. Every May, residents and visitors gather at the Camp DuBois Rendezvous, which is a historic reenactment of the French Fur Trading era during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.