A city and the county-seat of Madison county, Illinois, U.S.A., in the south-western part of the state, on Cahokia Creek, about 18 m. N.E. of St Louis. Pop. (1890) 3561; (1900) 4157, of whom 573 were foreign-born. Edwardsville is served by the Toledo, St Louis & Western, the Wabash, the Litchfield & Madison, and the Illinois Terminal railways, and is connected with St Louis by three electric lines. It has a Carnegie library. The city's principal manufactures are carriages, ploughs, brick, machinery, sanitary ware and plumber's goods. Bituminous coal is extensively mined in the vicinity. Adjoining Edwardsville is the co-operative village Leclaire (unincorporated), with the factory of the N.O. Nelson Manufacturing Co., makers of plumber's supplies, brass goods, sanitary fixtures, &c.; the village was founded in 1890 by Nelson O. Nelson (b. 1844), and nearly all of the residents are employed by the company of which he is the head; they share to a certain extent in its profits, and are encouraged to own their own homes. The company supports a school, Leclaire Academy, and has built a club-house, bowling alleys, tennis-courts, base-ball grounds, &c. The first settlement on the site of Edwardsville was made in 1812, and in 1815 the town was laid out and named in honour of Ninian Edwards (1775-1833), the governor of the Illinois Territory (1809-1818), and later United States senator (1818-1824) and governor of the state of Illinois (1826-1830). Edwardsville was incorporated in 1819 and received its present charter in 1872.