West Alton, MO

West Alton is a St. Charles County city of 359 people at the 2020 census, at the tip of the peninsula formed by the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Alton, Illinois, sits directly across the Mississippi, and the city's name tells that cross-river relationship plainly. U.S. 67 and Missouri 94 meet in West Alton, while the community's school connection runs through the Orchard Farm R-V School District.

The river setting is the whole local map. West Alton was named for its position on the western bank of the Mississippi opposite Alton, and a post office has operated here since 1895. The nearby confluence is also a regional landmark, with the Missouri joining the Mississippi just beyond town. West Alton is a small city whose roads, name, postal history, and school district all point back to the same two-river peninsula. The peninsula also keeps the confluence visible in everyday orientation, with Illinois across the water and Missouri roads behind it. The river is always close.