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Peoria, Illinois
Peoria (/piˈɔːriə/ pee-OR-ee-ə) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in Illinois. It is the principal city of the Peoria metropolitan area in Central Illinois, consisting of Fulton, Marshall, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford counties and home to 402,391 people in 2020.
Established in 1691 by the French explorer Henri de Tonti, Peoria is the oldest permanent European settlement in Illinois, according to the Illinois State Archaeological Survey. Originally[vague] known as Fort Clark, it received its current name when the County of Peoria was organized in 1825. The city was named after the Peoria people, a member of the Illinois Confederation. On October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln made his Peoria speech against the Kansas–Nebraska Act. Prior to prohibition, Peoria was the center of the whiskey industry in the United States. More than 12 distilleries operated in Peoria by the end of the 19th century, more than any other city in the U.S.
A major port on the Illinois River, Peoria is a trading and shipping center for a large agricultural area that produces corn, soybeans, and livestock. Although the economy is well diversified, the city's traditional manufacturing industries remain important and produce earthmoving equipment, metal products, lawn-care equipment, labels, steel towers, farm equipment, building materials, steel, wire, and chemicals. Until 2018, Peoria was the global and national headquarters for heavy equipment and engine manufacturer Caterpillar Inc., one of the 30 companies composing the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and listed on the Fortune 100; the company relocated its headquarters to Deerfield, Illinois, in 2018, and then Irving, Texas, in 2022.
The city is associated with the phrase "Will it play in Peoria?", which may have originated from the vaudeville era and is often spuriously attributed to Groucho Marx. Museums in the city include the Peoria Riverfront Museum, the Pettengill–Morron House and the John C. Flanagan House (both of which are managed by the Peoria Historical Society), and the Peoria Playhouse Children's Museum. Wheels o' Time Museum is near Peoria.
Peoria is the oldest European settlement in Illinois, as explorers first ventured up the Illinois River from the Mississippi. The lands that eventually would become Peoria were first settled by Europeans in 1680, when French explorers René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti constructed Fort Crevecoeur. This fort burned to the ground, and in 1813, Fort Clark, Illinois was built. When the County of Peoria was organized in 1825, Fort Clark was officially named Peoria.
Peoria was named after the Peoria tribe, a member of the Illinois Confederation. The original meaning of the word is uncertain. A 21st-century proposal suggests a derivation from a Proto-Algonquian word meaning "to dream with the help of a manitou." Peoria was incorporated as a village on March 11, 1835. The city did not have a mayor, though they had a village president, Rudolphus Rouse, who served from 1835 to 1836. The first Chief of Police, John B Lishk, was appointed in 1837. The city was incorporated on April 21, 1845. This was the end of a village president and the start of the mayoral system, with the first mayor being William Hale. Peoria, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, was named after Peoria, Illinois because the two men who founded it in 1890 − Joseph B. Greenhut and Deloss S. Brown − wished to name it after their hometown.
Peoria was significant in the world of bicycle racing during the late 19th century. Held at Lake View Park, its U.S. bicycle racing stop hosted such notable names as Marshall "Major" Taylor, who became world champion. Taylor described Peoria as the "Mecca" for the sport. For much of the 20th century, Peoria hosted a red-light district of brothels and bars known as the Merry-Go-Round. Richard Pryor got his start as a performer on North Washington Street in the early 1960s.
In 2021, Rita Ali became Peoria's first female and African American mayor. Though it had been named one of the fastest-shrinking cities as recently as 2021, later in the 2020s, Peoria became notable for its trend of urban gentrification — still a rarity in many midsized Midwestern cities. TikTok user Angie Ostazewski was profiled in the New York Times after being credited with convincing upwards of 300 people to relocate to Peoria, using her profile to advertise the city's dining and arts scene and low-priced, historic housing.
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Peoria, Illinois
Peoria (/piˈɔːriə/ pee-OR-ee-ə) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in Illinois. It is the principal city of the Peoria metropolitan area in Central Illinois, consisting of Fulton, Marshall, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford counties and home to 402,391 people in 2020.
Established in 1691 by the French explorer Henri de Tonti, Peoria is the oldest permanent European settlement in Illinois, according to the Illinois State Archaeological Survey. Originally[vague] known as Fort Clark, it received its current name when the County of Peoria was organized in 1825. The city was named after the Peoria people, a member of the Illinois Confederation. On October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln made his Peoria speech against the Kansas–Nebraska Act. Prior to prohibition, Peoria was the center of the whiskey industry in the United States. More than 12 distilleries operated in Peoria by the end of the 19th century, more than any other city in the U.S.
A major port on the Illinois River, Peoria is a trading and shipping center for a large agricultural area that produces corn, soybeans, and livestock. Although the economy is well diversified, the city's traditional manufacturing industries remain important and produce earthmoving equipment, metal products, lawn-care equipment, labels, steel towers, farm equipment, building materials, steel, wire, and chemicals. Until 2018, Peoria was the global and national headquarters for heavy equipment and engine manufacturer Caterpillar Inc., one of the 30 companies composing the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and listed on the Fortune 100; the company relocated its headquarters to Deerfield, Illinois, in 2018, and then Irving, Texas, in 2022.
The city is associated with the phrase "Will it play in Peoria?", which may have originated from the vaudeville era and is often spuriously attributed to Groucho Marx. Museums in the city include the Peoria Riverfront Museum, the Pettengill–Morron House and the John C. Flanagan House (both of which are managed by the Peoria Historical Society), and the Peoria Playhouse Children's Museum. Wheels o' Time Museum is near Peoria.
Peoria is the oldest European settlement in Illinois, as explorers first ventured up the Illinois River from the Mississippi. The lands that eventually would become Peoria were first settled by Europeans in 1680, when French explorers René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti constructed Fort Crevecoeur. This fort burned to the ground, and in 1813, Fort Clark, Illinois was built. When the County of Peoria was organized in 1825, Fort Clark was officially named Peoria.
Peoria was named after the Peoria tribe, a member of the Illinois Confederation. The original meaning of the word is uncertain. A 21st-century proposal suggests a derivation from a Proto-Algonquian word meaning "to dream with the help of a manitou." Peoria was incorporated as a village on March 11, 1835. The city did not have a mayor, though they had a village president, Rudolphus Rouse, who served from 1835 to 1836. The first Chief of Police, John B Lishk, was appointed in 1837. The city was incorporated on April 21, 1845. This was the end of a village president and the start of the mayoral system, with the first mayor being William Hale. Peoria, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, was named after Peoria, Illinois because the two men who founded it in 1890 − Joseph B. Greenhut and Deloss S. Brown − wished to name it after their hometown.
Peoria was significant in the world of bicycle racing during the late 19th century. Held at Lake View Park, its U.S. bicycle racing stop hosted such notable names as Marshall "Major" Taylor, who became world champion. Taylor described Peoria as the "Mecca" for the sport. For much of the 20th century, Peoria hosted a red-light district of brothels and bars known as the Merry-Go-Round. Richard Pryor got his start as a performer on North Washington Street in the early 1960s.
In 2021, Rita Ali became Peoria's first female and African American mayor. Though it had been named one of the fastest-shrinking cities as recently as 2021, later in the 2020s, Peoria became notable for its trend of urban gentrification — still a rarity in many midsized Midwestern cities. TikTok user Angie Ostazewski was profiled in the New York Times after being credited with convincing upwards of 300 people to relocate to Peoria, using her profile to advertise the city's dining and arts scene and low-priced, historic housing.
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