Peoria

Peoria lies on the Illinois River beside a broadening of its waters known as Lake Peoria. The name comes from the Peoria, one of the Illinois peoples who lived along this waterway. Their villages and the river route drew French traders and explorers into the region in the late seventeenth century.

In 1680 La Salle and Henri de Tonti built Fort Crèvecoeur near a large Illinois village, though the post was soon abandoned. In 1691 Tonti established another fort at Lake Peoria, known as Fort Pimiteoui. French traders and Indigenous communities maintained connections here long after these first expeditions. American troops built Fort Clark in 1813, and the growing settlement adopted the name Peoria in 1825. It was formally incorporated as a village in 1835.