Real American History.-Little Switzerland

Highland is located in eastern Madison County and is also known as Little Switzerland.  The first European settlers to the area arrived in 1804 from Kentucky and North Carolina.  The next group to arrive was a group of immigrants from Sursee, Switzerland who had first  settled in Missouri, but not liking its pro-slavery stance decided to relocate to the rolling hills  of the Looking Glass Prairie area of Madison County.  In 1831 they founded a community called New Switzerland in 1831.  In 1836 General James Semple was looking for a town site along the path  of the projected Alton to Mt. Carmel Railroad and with the cooperation of locals,  they platted the town.  The name of Highland was chosen because Semple convinced the locals that the area  resembled his native Scotland. To attract additional settlers the locals wrote back to Switzerland describing the area  and soon more settlers from Switzerland arrived.  Soon Highland had more Swiss immigrants than any other city in America.  Read More;http://www.greatriverroad.com/somadco/highlandcover.htm