East Peoria is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,484 at the 2020 census. East Peoria is part of the Peoria metropolitan area, located across the Illinois River from downtown Peoria. It is home to many Caterpillar Inc. facilities.

The city is the site of the Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino, as well as the city's major business center, the Levee District. Located just east of the Illinois River, East Peoria has many points of access to and from the Peoria area. It is also the location of the Festival of Lights, an annual Christmas light display that runs from November to January and draws thousands of visitors from all over central Illinois.

History Several years after Illinois became a state (which happened December 18, 1818), William Blanchard and three other men (Charles Sargeant, Theodore Sargeant, and David Barnes) crossed Fort Clark (located in Peoria) to the eastern side of the Illinois River. The land here was a swampy floodplain; nevertheless, they made their claim on the land and built huts, growing corn and tomatoes in the fertile soil. This settlement was originally named "Fondulac Township", with fondulac meaning "bottom of the lake" in French.

Over the course of a few years, more settlers arrived. Jacob L. Wilson, Thomas Camelin, and a man simply known as "Donohue" established themselves in the new township, with Wilson eventually becoming the Justice of the Peace.

On June 14, 1855, a petition to plat the Town of Fondulac was filed with Tenth Judicial Circuit Court by Seth Abbott. This plat showed three streets—Mill Street, Main Street, and Depot Avenue—in addition to a sawmill, a cording mill, and a portion of the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad. By 1857, the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad was completed as far east as Chenoa, and the town received and sent farm products by rail. In February 1864, an additional plat of land was laid out for a town named "Bluetown" by William C. Cleveland, who was the Tazewell County Surveyor. This plat showed four streets: Peoria Street, Bloomington Street, Vine Street, and Sycamore Street. The petition for this plat was filed by Joseph Schertz and accepted April 1, 1864. The origins of the name "Bluetown" are claimed to be from Joseph Schertz, who "always wore blue smocks at their work."LaKemper, Daniel A., ed. (1984). The Centennial History of East Peoria. East Peoria Centennial Commission. p. 7.

On July 1, 1884, citizens of both Fondulac and Bluetown held a referendum at the public school to propose both towns be incorporated as one. This proposition passed by a vote of 30–12, and the two towns were merged into the Village of Hilton. There is no official origin behind the new name, but there is a connection with the w at the eastern end of town. On August 4, the first village board of trustees was elected. Nicholas Slagle was named the first president, and he appointed Thomas J. Floyd and Joseph Moseman as the village clerk and treasurer, respectively. Peter Schertz, H.F. Cappo, J.G. Vogelgesang, Samuel Allen Sr., and Edward Lange Sr. were elected to the board as well.LaKemper, Daniel A., ed. (1984). The Centennial History of East Peoria. East Peoria Centennial Commission. p. 9.

The village existed as Hilton for five years. In October, 1889, the name was changed to the "Village of East Peoria", since it was east of the city of Peoria. The name underwent a final change in April 1919, when it became the "City of East Peoria".

Geography

According to the 2020 census, East Peoria has a total area of , of which (or 90.13%) is land and (or 9.87%) is water.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, East Peoria had a population of 22,484. The median age was 43.2 years. 20.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.0 males age 18 and over.

99.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.4% lived in rural areas.

There were 9,812 households in East Peoria, including 5,975 families; 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.8% were married-couple households, 19.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 10,804 housing units, of which 9.2% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.6%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 20,243 90.0% Black or African American 353 1.6% American Indian and Alaska Native 57 0.3% Asian 219 1.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 15 0.1% Some other race 240 1.1% Two or more races 1,357 6.0% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 752 3.3% Economy

Manufacturing

Peoria Brick Company Among the natural resources available to extract were clay and shale—important for brickmaking. While numerous small brickmaking plants were scattered around East Peoria in the 1880s, F.R. Carter Brick Yard (later known as Peoria Brick & Tile, and Peoria Brick Company) would sustain itself to the present. In 1899 Frederick R. Carter purchased the Spurck Paving Brick Plant, manufacturing paving and building bricks and shipping them via the Lake Erie & Western Railroad. In the beginning, the brick yard had 60 employees and could produce up to 40,000 bricks a day.LaKemper, Daniel A., ed. (1984). The Centennial History of East Peoria. East Peoria Centennial Commission. p. 17. In 1909, Carter expanded the business to include an additional plant on Cole Hollow Road; the new location featured 10 dome-like brick kilns that were 30 feet in diameter and 16 feet tall. In addition, Carter purchased Rapp Clay Products in April 1925. Subsequently, Carter decided to close the original plant and had all brick manufacturing occur at the Cole Hollow Road location. By 1939, the company increased daily production to 65,000 bricks a day. They also transitioned from fuel sources such as coal and wood to gas, and used electricity to operate machinery rather than horsepower.

Although brick manufacturing ceased in 1982, the company has diversified its offerings in accordance with community needs. Now, they offer a wide variety of masonry and landscaping materials and have a much broader customer-base. Tom said, "Approximately 40 percent of our sales come from landscaping. You have to have diversity in order to stay with the times". In May 2013, Peoria Brick & Tile was renamed to Peoria Brick Company and expanded again by opening a new location in Mossville, Illinois.

The business has remained under the Carter family's management since its creation. Frederick's sons Charles, Raymond, and Ben, and Frederick's son-in-law Harry Maw, joined him in operating the plant. In 1966, the son-in-law of Charles, Thomas J. Carney, purchased the company. Thomas' son Tom Carney Jr. said, "After my grandfather, Charles Carter, passed away in 1964, the business transferred to my mother, Jane Carter, and father, Tom. I started in 1970, and my sister, Mary Pat Turner, and her husband Steve started in 1978. They retired in 2010". As of 2023, Tom Carney Jr., his daughter, and his son-in-law maintain operations.

Caterpillar Inc. The Holt Manufacturing Company in Stockton, California, had successfully built crawler-type tractors and in 1909 began looking for manufacturing facilities closer to the vast agricultural markets in the Midwest farm belt. Company president Benjamin Holt dispatched his nephew, Pliny E. Holt in March 1909 to find another plant. He met Murray Baker, an implement dealer, who knew of a factory already equipped to manufacture farm implements and steam traction engines that had belonged to the bankrupt Colean Manufacturing Co. of East Peoria.

Pliny inspected the Colean factory and learned Colean had spent at least $450,000 on the relatively new building and machinery. Holt bought the assets on October 25, 1909, for the $50,000 note held by a trust company. and began operations on February 15, 1910 with 12 employees. The "Holt Caterpillar Company" was incorporated in both Illinois and California on January 12, 1910. East Peoria became Holt Manufacturing Company's eastern manufacturing plant, competing with the nearby Avery Tractor Company. Holt was credited with producing the first practical continuous tracks for use with tractors and he registered "Caterpillar" as a trademark in 1911.The Peoria facility proved so profitable that only two years later the Peoria facility employed 625 people and was exporting tractors to Argentina, Canada, and Mexico. In April and May 1925, after a period of financial difficulty, the financially stronger C. L. Best merged with the market leader Holt Caterpillar to form the Caterpillar Tractor Co. Clarence Leo Best assumed the title of CEO, and remained in that role until October 1951. The new company was headquartered in San Leandro until 1930, when under the terms of the merger it was moved to Peoria. The Caterpillar company consolidated its product lines and went on to supply the Allied armies with artillery tractors during World War I, the first use of crawling type tractors for military purposes.

When World War I broke out, with the problem of trench warfare and the difficulty of transporting supplies to the front, the pulling power of crawling-type tractors drew the attention of the military. In British trials, the Holt tractor was found to be better suited than its competitors to haul heavy loads over uneven ground. The War Office was suitably impressed and chose it as a gun-tractor. Holt Caterpillar tractors were also the inspiration for the development of the British tank, which profoundly altered ground warfare tactics.

Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino

Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino is a riverboat casino located on the Illinois River off Illinois Route 116/U.S. Route 150 in East Peoria, Illinois, United States. Originally opened in 1991 in Peoria, it moved to East Peoria in 1993. While it was established through investors, Boyd Gaming purchased the casino in 1996 for US$175 million.

From 1991 to 1999, Par-A-Dice cruised the river daily, until Illinois removed the requirement for riverboat casinos to leave their docks. This was reversed in June 2010 with the new U.S. Coast Guard annual requirement, and the riverboat set off along the river for the first time in 11 years.Williams, Leslie (2010-06-22). "Par-A-Dice will take first cruise on the river in 11 years". Peoria Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois: Gatehouse Media.

In 2020, East Peoria's adjusted gross revenue from casinos dropped by 34.6% from $74.5 million to US$48.7 million.

Levee District The main commercial area of East Peoria is the Levee District. Located just across the river from downtown Peoria, it is a mixed-use project with a wide variety of restaurants, shopping malls, and accommodations. For the bulk of the 1900s, the area was a Caterpillar manufacturing site. In 1998, it was razed to the ground and all that remained was a concrete slab. The land was bought by the city for redevelopment in 2000, creating an opportunity to transform the industrial downtown into a commercial hub. East Peorians previously would have to travel to Peoria for dining and shopping; with the creation of the Levee District, residents could do so locally. A range of both national and local restaurants can be found in the Levee District.

In concert with the renovation of remaining Caterpillar buildings, the development of the downtown Peoria Riverfront Museum and Caterpillar Visitor Center, and the renovation of Interstate 74 and of the area's bridges, East Peoria's downtown and urban area have developed substantially.

Arts and Culture

Fondulac District Library