Nelson Oliver Nelson, a man with a dream, started his factory with the hopes of leading to a great gain of wealth.  Little did he know that his construction would lead to a major district in a very popular town and an increase in the education of students in the Edwardsville area.  The Nelson Complex pairs students with the technology needed in order to increase their learning capabilities.

Being raised on a Missouri farm, N.O. Nelson learned the skills and values necessary to become a good businessman.  After his Civil War service, he was introduced into a career as a book-keeper, but a few of his first endeavors were failures, he decided to continue his education.  Once he had established his business, the N.O. Nelson Company, he moved from simply wholesaling items to manufacturing items dealing with the area of plumbing.  The famous complex was designed by St. Louis architect A.E. Cameron specifically for the Nelson Manufacturing Company.  The complex is located on the corner of Brown and Wolf.

“Southwest Illinois is fortunate to have strong community colleges like Lewis and Clark,” said Gov. Blagojevich.  “Stronger still is the forward-thinking partnership between Lewis and Clark Community College (L&C), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) and Edwardsville High School. I am happy to support an idea whose time has come – a high-tech educational center that will support cutting-edge learning for high school, community college and university students and will help assure a strong manufacturing base for the region.”

 The agreement between Lewis and Clark and Edwardsville High School is very beneficial to students.  It allows the students to earn not only high school credit, but also a college credit with Lewis and Clark at the same time.  These credits can be transferred to other colleges, for an equivalent number of hours.  A student is not automatically given a college credit for their class, they have to talk to their teachers, and take a reading test, in order to be accepted to the Lewis and Clark school.

The renovation is expected to cost around 19.5 million dollars, and also is expected to be complete in the summer of 2007.  The idea of the renovation is to keep the exterior of the building looking the same, while having a state of the art educational facility inside.  Most rooms in the complex are computer labs, but it is rumored that shop classes will be moving into the newest phase renovation, when completed.