Standard Oil Company broke ground for the Wood River Refinery in 1907, and it was operational the following year. Wood River “startled the nation” with a 1,000 percent increase in population from 1910 to 1920, almost entirely due to the establishment of the Refinery. By the mid-1920s, there was a large enough population that Standard Oil decided to fund an impressive pool for Wood River, which opened July 3, 1926.
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The Wood River Pool was open to all, and there were no residency requirements to buy a season ticket or day pass. A June 4, 1926 Alton Evening Telegraph article gave the dimensions of the pool and the ticket prices. The pool was 300 feet long and 200 feet wide, shaped like “an elongated saucer,” and had a capacity of 1,320,000 gallons of water. The slab was five inches thick, made of reinforced concrete. The pool cost $100,000 to construct ($1,893,350 in 2026 money). Season tickets were $3 for anyone under the age of 17 and $6 for anyone over 17. One-time tickets were 15 cents and 25 cents, respectively. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, children 12 and under could swim for free from 2–3:30 p.m.
The Wood River Pool opened on Saturday, July 3, 1926, to great fanfare. A parade from City Hall to the Wood River Pool included the Standard Oil Refinery Band, Wood River city officials, Wood River police, the Wood River fire truck, American Legion and Auxiliary, American Legion Fife and Drum Corps, Italian Band, and decorated automobiles. The Standard Oil Refinery Band and Italian Band also performed at the pool.
According to a July 6, 1926 Alton Evening Telegraph article, 5,000 people came to the opening day, and at times 1,000 of them crowded into the pool at once. There were 600 bathing suits available for rent at the pool, and all of them had been rented by 2 p.m. “What cared this crowd for the scorching sun, what cared the happy bathers for the coming hours of sunburn repentance? This was the big day, Wood River’s gala day, and they were there to make the most of it.”
Wood River resident Faye Scheurer won a heavily advertised bathing beauty contest, with Edna Plumb of Alton coming in second and Florence Antrobus of East Alton taking third. “The beauty contest over, the bathers went back bathing, the watchers went back to watching, and the judges went home.”
“Thus Wood River had her big party. Was it a success? It was more than that. It was a wow.”
Special thanks to the Wood River Museum. Go visit them to see their exhibit on the Wood River Pool and other fascinating exhibits!https://woodriverillinoismuseum.org/
Lacy’s note: This is my 100th article in the “100 Years Ago” series. It has been an absolute pleasure to write these articles over the last two years. It has also been an incredibly large amount of work. I’m not saying goodbye forever, but I am taking a break to focus on other projects at the Genealogy & Local History Library for a little while. If you missed any of the articles, they are all available here:https://www.riverbender.com/profiles/details.cfm?id=153. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey back in time.
Sources
“1926 Photograph of Round Pool,” Madison Historical, accessed July 1, 2026,https://madison-historical.siue.edu/archive/items/show/1291.
“Gala Day for Wood River’s Pool Opening.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), June 4, 1926.
“Many Seek Job as Judges for Beauty Contest.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), June 24, 1926.
“Scale of Fees is Announced for Wood River Pool.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), April 17, 1926.
“When Wood River Opened New Swimming Pool.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), July 6, 1926.
“Wood River.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), June 18, 1926.
“Wood River Pool Opening Date Changed.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), June 28, 1926.
“Wood River Pool Opening Gala Affair; Wood River Girl Wins Beauty Contest.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), July 6, 1926.
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