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Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 112,936.

Geography

Peoria is located at (40.720737, -89.609421).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 120.8 km² (46.6 mi²). 115.0 km² (44.4 mi²) of it is land and 5.8 km² (2.2 mi²) of it (4.78%) is water.

Peoria is bounded on the east by the Illinois River except for the enclave of Peoria Heights. Four bridges run directly between the city and neighboring East Peoria. On the south end of Peoria's western border are Bartonville and the newly established city of West Peoria. Local municipal plans indicate that the city intends to continue its expansion northwest, into an area unofficially considered part of Dunlap, Illinois.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 112,936 people, 45,199 households, and 27,345 families residing in the city. The population density was 982.1/km² (2,543.4/mi²). There were 49,125 housing units at an average density of 427.2/km² (1,106.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.29% White, 24.79% African American, 0.20% Native American, 2.33% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.20% from other races, and 2.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.51% of the population.

There were 45,199 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,397. The per capita income for the city was $20,512. 18.8% of the population were below the poverty line.

A special census was conducted in 2004 which noted a 5,200 increase in city population, mainly in the northwest corridor. The metropolitan area has a population of 370,000 which includes parts of Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Stark and Marshall Counties.

Education

Peoria is served by two K-12 school districts. District 150 is the larger and serves the central and southern part of Peoria. Dunlap District #323 serves the far north part of Peoria. District #323 is one of the fastest growing school districts in Central Illinois.

Notables

Peoria has been awarded the All-America City Award three times. The most recent Sperling and Sanders Best Places to Live Rankings among 400 metropolitan areas placed Peoria #51 citing "low cost of living, low cost of doing business, and beautiful residential areas" as the main pros to the area per the publication.

The city of Peoria is home to Bradley University, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League, a federal courthouse, the Peoria Civic Center (which includes Carver Arena), and the world headquarters for Caterpillar Inc. Medicine has become a major part of Peoria's economy. The USDA's National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, formerly called the USDA Northern Regional Research Lab, is where mass production of penicillin was developed. The city has three major hospitals plus the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, the Midwest Affiliate of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Illinois.

Peoria maintains a healthy and vibrant downtown area which includes corporate, governmental, convention, educational and medical facilities. It also boasts the Peoria Civic Center, Apollo Theatre, O'Brien Field and the arts, dining and entertainment area known as the Riverfront. Downtown also maintains a permanent population living in high rise condominiums, riverfront lofts and converted office/warehouse condominiums and apartments. The new Museum Square is under construction which will house a new regional museum, planetarium, and the Caterpillar World Visitors Center adjacent to the Riverfront.

Grandview Drive, which Teddy Roosevelt is said to have called the "world's most beautiful drive", runs through Peoria and Peoria Heights. In addition to Grand View Drive, the Peoria Park District boasts nine thousand acres (36 km²) of parks, including Glen Oak Zoo and five public golf courses. There are also several private and semi-private golf courses. The Peoria Park District was the 2001 Winner of the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation for Class II Parks.

The city maintains a symphony orchestra that is the 10th oldest in the nation. It also hosts Opera Illinois, two ballet companies - Peoria Ballet and the Illinois Ballet, Peoria Municipal Band, Peoria Area Civic Chorale, several community and professional theatres, including the 4th oldest community theatre in the nation and oldest in Illinois - Peoria Players, Central Illinois Youth Symphony, Lakeview Museum for the Arts and Sciences, Wheels o' Time Museum, The Contemporary Art Center of Peoria, The Peoria Art Guild and Galleries - host of the Annual Art Fair that is rated as one of the best professional art fairs in the nation, comedy clubs, as well as several venues for a variety of traveling shows and concerts including major Broadway touring companies. Peoria is also embarking on major renovations and expansion to Glen Oak Zoo. This will triple the size of the zoo and will have a major African safari exhibit. The zoo begins this renovation in Spring of 2006 and will be renamed Peoria Zoo and Gardens.

Peoria is home to the AHL Peoria Rivermen, Class A Minor League Baseball team - Peoria Chiefs, and UIF (indoor football) - Peoria Rough Riders. The Peoria Chiefs play at the new O'Brien Field stadium in downtown Peoria. The community also enjoys collegiate basketball with the Bradley University Braves.

Peoria has become famous as a representation of the average American city, because of its demographics and its perceived mainstream Midwestern culture. On the Vaudeville circuit, it was said that if an act would succeed in Peoria, it would work anywhere. The question "Will it play in Peoria?" has now become a metaphor for whether something appeals to the American mainstream public, and Peoria is often used as a test market for new products.

Peoria's sister cities include Friedrichshafen, Germany; Benxi, China; and Clonmel, Ireland. Peoria has also recently adopted Biloxi, Mississippi as a sister city to aid the city in recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Planned Development

I-74 Expansion

I-DOT and the DOT have undertaken a lane expansion of I-74 to accommodate downtown Peoria's rapid development. As of 2006, the multi-year project is mid-way through construction.

St. Francis Medical Center

St. Francis, which is ranked as the ninth largest Catholic hospital in the nation, has announced a $245 million expansion in its downtown campus which will provide a larger and separate entrance into the Children's Hospital and will house more adult and children facilities. This is estimated to create 850 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent healthcare-related jobs.

Civic Center

The Peoria Civic Center is also in the process of a $55 million revitalization and expansion to its facilities based on demand for larger conventions and entertainment venues. The original complex, which includes an arena, convention center, and theatre and completed in the early 1980's, was designed by the famed late architect Philip Johnson. The three structures are connected via an enclosed glass panel arcade for all weather protection and aesthetics.

Peoria NEXT - Renaissance Park

Through collaboration and creativity of Peoria-based educational, medical, corporate, and governmental entities, Peoria NEXT facilitates discovery, innovation, and commercialization of new technologies for economic development. To further this initiative, Peoria NEXT is establishing Renaissance Park - a research park that will provide the facilities for development of entrepreneurial innovations. This park will connect the following institutions - Bradley University, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Downstate Medical Center Complex (St. Francis and Methodist Medical Centers), National Center for Agricutural Utilization Research, and Caterpillar. This will also provide urban renewal in many adjacent older neighborhoods based on the New Urbanism concept. Current successes have been Firefly Energy - advanced battery technology which won a lucrative federal contract, Akoya - a product lifecycle analytics solution provider, and I-Soy - which promises new advances in the beauty care industry.

Museum Square

Slated for completion in 2009, the $100+ million Museum Square is a new 6.8-acre development in downtown Peoria along the Illinois River. Planned and designed by architecture firm Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, the Square will house two separate facilities - the Central Illinois Regional Museum and Caterpillar Visitor Center. The 110,000-square-foot museum will feature hands-on and interactive displays, a planetarium and Imaginarium, innovative galleries and ever-changing, regionally focused exhibits on the arts, sciences, history and nature. It will highlight the region's creativity, innovations, and world-wide impact - past, present and future. Caterpillar, an international company, will maintain the 50,000-square-foot Caterpillar Visitor Center, which will showcase the history of the company and provide an enhanced understanding of its global commitment to customers, quality and its community.

History

The Native Americans

Archaeologists can trace early man in Peoria as far back as 10,000 B.C.E. Artifacts and burial mounds yield evidence of a Native American civilization that was highly organized, ritualistic and in harmony with nature. By 1650, the Illini Indians, a part of the Algonquin Nation, populated the area. The major tribes of the Illinois Confederacy were: Peoria, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Cahokia, Tamaroa.

Peoria (through French Peouarea, from Peoria Piwarea, 'he comes carrying a pack on his back': a personal name). One of the principal tribes of the Illinois confederacy. Franquelin in his map of 1688, this locates them and the Tapouaro on a river west of the Mississippi above the mouth of Wisconsin River, probably the upper Iowa River. Early references to the Illinois, which place them on the Mississippi, although some of the tribes were on Rock and Illinois rivers, must relate to the Peoria and locate them near the mouth of the Wisconsin River. When Marquette and Joliet descended the Mississippi in 1673, they found them and the Moingwena on the west side of the Mississippi, near the mouth of a river supposed to be the Des Moines, though it may have been one farther north. When Marquette returned from the south, he found that the Peoria had removed and were near the lower end of the expansion of Illinois River, near the present Peoria. At the close of the war carried on by the Sauk and Foxes and other northern tribes against the Illinois, about 1768, the Kickapoo took possession of this village and made it their principal settlement.

About the same time, a large part of the Peoria crossed over into Missouri, where they remained, building their village on Blackwater fork, until they removed to Kansas. One band, the Utagami, living near the Illinois River, was practically exterminated, probably by the northern tribes, during the Revolutionary War. Utagami, according to Dr. William Jones, may mean the Foxes, who were known to the northern Algonquians as Utugamig, "people of the other shore." The Foxes claim to have annihilated the Peoria for the help they gave the French and other tribes in the wars against them (the Foxes). The main body of the Peoria remained on the east bank of the Illinois River until 1832, when, together with the other tribes of the old Illinois Confederacy, they sold to the United States their claims in Illinois and Missouri, and to the consolidated tribes, under the names of Peoria and Kaskaskia, was assigned a reservation on the Osage River, Kansas. In 1854, the Wea and Piankashaw united with them, and in 1868, the entire body removed to Indian Territory in Oklahoma, where they remained.

The French

1673 Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the shores of Peoria. 1680 Robert Cavalier Sieur de LaSalle and Henri de Tonti constructed Fort Crevecoeur on the east bank of the Illinois River. 1691 Old Peorias Fort and Village
  • Tonti and Francois Daupin de LaForest built Fort St. Louis II (frequently called Fort Pimiteoui) believed to have been located at the foot of Mary and Adams Streets. The Immaculate Conception Mission was established here by Jesuit missionaries. A village grew up around the fort. This first European settlement in Illinois had trading posts, a blacksmith shop, a chapel, a winepress, and a windmill.

During the 1760s Jean Baptiste Maillet, a French-Canadian, assumed a leadership role in the village. In 1773 Maillet sold his property to Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, Peoria's most notable black settler, who later founded Chicago.

With British victory in the French & Indian War in 1763, France relinquished the Illinois Territory to Great Britain. However, the British did not effectively take immediate control and the French villagers remained. In 1778 George Rogers Clark captured the Illinois Country for Virginia, and in 1784 Virginia ceded the Territory to the United States.

1778 The New Village

General Clark appointed Maillet military commander in 1778. Maillet moved 1.5 miles south of the old village and built a fortified house. This settlement later became known as "LaVille de Maillet." It is now the site of downtown Peoria. The New Village had log houses and barns surrounded by gardens, orchards, and roaming farm animals. Carpenter, blacksmith, cobbler, carriage, and trading shops lined the narrow streets. The French villagers had also constructed a large windmill, winepress, an underground wine vault, and a gilt-lettered wilderness chapel.

The War of 1812

American forces thought the French villagers were supporting Indian skirmishes with the westward-bound pioneers. In October 1812, they massacred the inhabitants of Chief Black Partridge's village. A few weeks later, the Americans burned French Peoria to the ground, took the inhabitants captive, and transported them down river to Alton. These acts were later condemned and the French villagers were compensated for their losses by an act of the United States Congress. The Native Americans, who for centuries had enjoyed the bounty of the Pimiteoui valley, were forced to abandon it and migrate west.

The Americans

  • 1813 American soldiers erected Fort Clark where the French village once stood — now the site of Liberty Park (Liberty Street and Constitution Avenue).
  • 1819 Josiah Fulton, Abner Eads and five other young men came to Peoria by keelboat and horseback. They were the first American pioneers to settle here.
  • 1825 The county was organized and the village name was officially changed from Fort Clark to Peoria. Until 1831 when Cook County was formed, Chicago was part of Peoria County.
  • 1832 A company of local men, led by Abner Eads, fought in the Blackhawk War. In fear over possible Indian threats, Peoria residents started to rebuild Fort Clark.
  • 1835 Peoria was incorporated as a town. Construction began on a courthouse and jail.
  • 1845 Peoria was incorporated as a city.

The Civil War Era

The citizens of Peoria were sharply divided on the issue of slavery. Many abolition rallies were met with resistance from Southern sympathizers. The Jefferson Street home of Moses Pettengill, a wealthy local merchant, was a station on the Underground Railroad
  • 1854 Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas gave impassioned speeches on the courthouse steps regarding the issue of slavery. The three hour speech Lincoln gave is considered a landmark in his career and established the foundation for the principles of self-government and liberty for all people that would carry him to the White House six years later.
  • 1861 The day the Civil War began, Peoria Mayor William Willard led a war recruitment rally for eager volunteers. Camp Lyon, where 7500 Union soldiers were trained, was established at the west gate of Glen Oak Park.
  • 1862 Camp Peoria was organized near Adams and Mary Streets.
  • In all, 536 Peoria County men gave their lives for the preservation of the Union.

Registered historic places

Media

FM Radio

AM Radio

Analog Television

Digital Television (DTV)

  • 28 WYZZ-DT (43.1 - High Definition) "Fox 43", Fox
  • 30 WMBD-DT (31.3 - Standard Definition) "Newschannel 31", CBS
  • 39 WAOE-DT (39.1 - Standard Definition) "UPN 59", UPN
  • 40 WHOI-DT (19.1 - High Definition), ABC
  • 46 WTVP-DT (47.1 - Standard Definition), PBS
  • 46 WTVP-DT (47.2 - High Definition), PBS HDTV
  • 46 WTVP-DT (47.3 - Standard Defnition), Create
  • 56 WEEK-DT (25.1 - High Definition) "News 25", NBC
  • 56 WEEK-DT (25.2 - Standard Definition), NBC Weather Plus

Print

Journal Star, local daily newspaper

Famous connections to Peoria

People born or raised in Peoria

Well-known organizations

Other famous Peorians

Famous events

See also

Colleges and universities

Roads

Points of interest

Sports

External links

All-America City | Cities in Illinois | Peoria County, Illinois | University towns

Peoria (Illinois) | Peoria (Illinois) | Peoria, Illinois | Peoria (Illinois) | Peoria (Illinois) | Peoria (Illinois) | Peoria, Illinois | Peoria, Illinois

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Peoria, Illinois".

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