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.

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.

Peoria has been awarded the All-America City Award three times.

The city of Peoria is home to Bradley University, 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 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 and the Midwest Affiliate of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Grand View 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 of parks, including Glen Oak Zoo and five public golf courses. There are also several private and semi-private golf courses.

The city of Peoria, through its Peoria NEXT initiative is creating Renaissance Park - a collaboration of the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Bradley University, Methodist Medical Center, Caterpillar Inc., and other prominent corporate leadership. This incubator will serve to provide leadership in discovery, innovation and commercialization in the areas of life sciences, material sciences, and engineering sciences. Several successful ventures have already been created included Firefly Inc ( a recent winner of a lucrative federal contract for new battery technology) and I-Soy - which will provide innovation to the beauty industry.

Peoria is also planning for a new $100 million plus modern and edgy designed Museum Square housing the Central Illinois Regional Museum and Caterpillar Visitors Center in the heart of Downtown Peoria. 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.

Peoria also boosts a lively cultural scene. The city maintains a symphony orchestra (10th oldest in the nation), 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 oldest community theatre in the nation - 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 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 was 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.

Geography

Peoria is located at 40°43'15" North, 89°36'34" West (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 is water. The total area is 4.78% 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.

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 1760's 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.

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. 2.51% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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.

Famous connections to Peoria

People born or raised in Peoria

• Bill Ballance - radio host
• Jack Brickhouse - announcer: voice of the Chicago Cubs
• Nancy Goodman Brinker - United States ambassador to Hungary 2001-09-06 to 2003-06-19; founder of Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; sister of Susan G. Komen
• Mark Staff Brandl - artist
• John Daker - local vocalist shown on a widely-circulated Internet clip
• Philip Jose Farmer - science fiction and fantasy author
• Dan Fogelberg - musician
• Betty Friedan - feminist author: notably of The Feminine Mystique
• Joe Girardi - Major League Baseball catcher; manager of the Florida Marlins
• Jerry Hadley - opera tenor
• Tom Irwin - Steppenwolf Theatre Company actor and television actor
• Jim Jordan and Marian Jordan - stars of Fibber McGee and Molly on radio
• Susan G. Komen - namesake of Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
• Ray LaHood - U.S. Congressman from Ilinois' 18th District
• Tami Lane - Hollywood prosthetic makeup artist; 2005 Academy Award for Makeup winner for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Ralph Lawler - announcer; legendary voice of the Los Angeles Clippers
• Shaun Livingston - basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers
• Camryn Manheim - actress; lived in Peoria until age 12
• Carla McGhee - basketball forward: gold-metalist in basketball at the 1996 Summer Olympics
• Robert H. Michel - former U.S. Congressman from Illinois' 18th District: longest serving Republican leader of the House of Representatives.
• Richard Pryor - comedian and actor
• Andrew Rex - physicist and author
• Matt Savoie - figure skater: U.S. bronze medalist, member of 2006 Winter Olympics U.S. team
• Aaron Schneider - filmmaker and recipient of the 2003 Academy Award for Live Action Short Film for Two Soldiers
• Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen - host of The Catholic Hour on radio and Life is Worth Living on television
• Dan Simmons - author of the Hyperion Cantos series and other novels
• Michael Somerville - musician, songwriter
• David Ogden Stiers - actor: Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on M*A*S*H
• Jim Thome - baseball player for the Chicago White Sox
• Amy Weber - actress and former WWE diva

Well-known organizations

• Bergner's - department store; started in 1889 in downtown Peoria and eventually bought out Carson Pirie Scott & Co.; now part of Bon-Ton
• Caterpillar Inc. (world headquarters) - bulldozer and engine manufacturer
• Clifton Gunderson LLP (national headquarters) - 13th largest national accounting and consulting firm
• Komatsu Mining Systems - construction equipment manufacturer
• Maui Jim (world headquarters) - polarized sunglasses maker
• National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research - largest USDA facility; where mass production of penicillin was invented
• L.R. Nelson Corporation (world headquarters) - manufacturer of irrigation sprinklers
• RLI Corp. - specialty insurance company

Other famous Peorians

• Harry Harrison - "Morning Mayor of Peoria" on WPEO, disc jockey on several New York City radio stations.
• Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll - popular and controversial orator and former Illinois Attorney General
• Sam Kinison - comedian and former preacher. Though associated with Peoria, Kinison probably actually grew up in East Peoria.
• Mudvayne - nu-metal music band
• General John M. Shalikashvili - former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Spirit of Peoria - paddle wheel riverboat

Famous events

• September 19, 1813 to October 21, 1813 - Peoria War
• October 16, 1854 - Abraham Lincoln first publicized his stand that United States should move towards restricting and eventually eliminating slavery, a position directly against historic compromises such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The speech, which was possibly similar to one given in Springfield, Illinois, 12 days earlier, followed the speech of Stephen A. Douglas, who Lincoln would later debate regularly in the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858.
• April 3, 1967 - The trial of mass murderer Richard Speck begins at the Peoria County courthouse, after a change of venue from Chicago to ensure a fair trial.
• Theodore Roosevelt named Grand View Drive, a street on the bluffs overlooking the Illinois River "The world's most beautiful drive." A Peoria radio station and CBS television affilitate took its call letters -- WMBD -- from his favorable opinion.

See also

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria

Colleges and universities

• Bradley University
• Illinois Central College (Downtown and North campuses)
• Midstate College
• Robert Morris College (Peoria campus)
• University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria

Roads

• Peoria, Illinois bridges
• Peoria-to-Chicago Highway
• Illinois State Route 6, 8, 29, 40, 91, 116
• Interstate 74 and Interstate 474
• U.S. Highway 24, 150

Points of interest

• George L. Luthy Memorial Botanical Garden

Sports

• Peoria Chiefs
• Peoria Prairie Dogs
• Peoria Rivermen
• Peoria Rough Riders