East Peoria, Illinois
Encyclopedia
East Peoria is a city in Tazewell County
, Illinois
, United States
. The population was 23,402 at the 2010 census. East Peoria is part of the Peoria, Illinois
Metropolitan Statistical Area
, located across the Illinois River
from downtown Peoria. It is home to many Caterpillar Inc.
facilities. The city is also the site of the home campus of Illinois Central College
, a regional community college, and Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino
. The main commercial area of East Peoria is just across the river from downtown Peoria.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 21 square miles (54.4 km²), of which, 18.8 square miles (48.7 km²) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) of it (10.56%) is water.
of 2000, there were 22,638 people, 9,478 households, and 6,397 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,203.4 people per square mile (464.7/km²). There were 9,938 housing units at an average density of 528.3 per square mile (204.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.32% White, 0.47% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races
, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population.
There were 9,478 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples
living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,538, and the median income for a family was $51,836. Males had a median income of $39,549 versus $24,570 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $20,147. About 4.9% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
East Peoria High School is the only high school, and both the other districts, Robein and District 86, feed into it.
, channel 25, the local NBC
affiliate, has long maintained studios and transmitter facilities on Springfield Road in East Peoria. In recent years, other stations have moved in with WEEK-TV as a result of operations mergers through local marketing agreements, including MyNetworkTV
affiliate WAOE
(channel 59), and ABC
affiliate WHOI
(channel 19), which moved to the Springfield Road studios in 2009 from its former location in nearby Creve Coeur
. The remainder of Peoria's TV stations maintain their studios across the river in Peoria.
, at 28 grains
/gallon
as calcium, or roughly 479 mg/L
. A higher-capacity water softener may be required to adequately soften water of this hardness level.
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 engine
s 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 Feb 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 tractor
s 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 75 hp 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.
Tazewell County, Illinois
Tazewell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 135,394, which is an increase of 5.4% from 128,485 in 2000. Its county seat and largest city is Pekin. The majority of the population live in the suburbs and bedroom communities...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 23,402 at the 2010 census. East Peoria is part of the Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Peoria metropolitan area
The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of five counties in Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Peoria...
, located across the Illinois River
Illinois River
The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...
from downtown Peoria. It is home to many Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
facilities. The city is also the site of the home campus of Illinois Central College
Illinois Central College
Illinois Central College, often called ICC, is a large Illinois community college with its largest campus in East Peoria, Illinois, off Illinois State Route 116 near U.S. Route 150 and the McClugage Bridge...
, a regional community college, and Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino
Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino
Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino is a casino located on the Illinois River off Illinois Route 116/U.S. Route 150 in East Peoria, Illinois, United States.The Par-A-Dice opened in 1991 in Peoria, Illinois, and moved across the river to East Peoria in 1993...
. The main commercial area of East Peoria is just across the river from downtown Peoria.
Geography
East Peoria is located at 40°40′9"N 89°32′44"W (40.669075, -89.545533).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 21 square miles (54.4 km²), of which, 18.8 square miles (48.7 km²) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) of it (10.56%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 22,638 people, 9,478 households, and 6,397 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,203.4 people per square mile (464.7/km²). There were 9,938 housing units at an average density of 528.3 per square mile (204.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.32% White, 0.47% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population.
There were 9,478 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,538, and the median income for a family was $51,836. Males had a median income of $39,549 versus $24,570 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $20,147. About 4.9% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.6% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
East Peoria is serviced by 3 school districts: 1 high school district and 2 elementary districts.East Peoria High School is the only high school, and both the other districts, Robein and District 86, feed into it.
Media
East Peoria is home to the majority of the commercial television broadcast outlets that serve the Peoria area. WEEK-TVWEEK-TV
WEEK-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for West-Central Illinois licensed to Peoria. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 25 from a transmitter at studios on Springfield Road in East Peoria. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 10 and in high definition...
, channel 25, the local NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate, has long maintained studios and transmitter facilities on Springfield Road in East Peoria. In recent years, other stations have moved in with WEEK-TV as a result of operations mergers through local marketing agreements, including MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
affiliate WAOE
WAOE
WAOE is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for West-Central Illinois licensed to Peoria. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter at studios on Springfield Road in East Peoria. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 11...
(channel 59), and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate WHOI
WHOI (TV)
WHOI is the ABC-affiliated television station for West Central Illinois licensed to Peoria. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 19 from a transmitter on North Stewart Street in Creve Coeur. Owned by Barrington Broadcasting, the station is operated by the Granite...
(channel 19), which moved to the Springfield Road studios in 2009 from its former location in nearby Creve Coeur
Creve Coeur, Illinois
Creve Coeur is a village in Groveland Township, Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 5,448...
. The remainder of Peoria's TV stations maintain their studios across the river in Peoria.
Utilities
The water provided by East Peoria Public Works (which services most, if not all of East Peoria homes and businesses) is extremely hardHard water
Hard water is water that has high mineral content . Hard water has high concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions. Hard water is generally not harmful to one's health but can pose serious problems in industrial settings, where water hardness is monitored to avoid costly breakdowns in boilers, cooling...
, at 28 grains
Grain (measure)
A grain is a unit of measurement of mass that is nominally based upon the mass of a single seed of a cereal. From the Bronze Age into the Renaissance the average masses of wheat and barley grains were part of the legal definition of units of mass. However, there is no evidence of any country ever...
/gallon
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
as calcium, or roughly 479 mg/L
Litér
- External links :*...
. A higher-capacity water softener may be required to adequately soften water of this hardness level.
Caterpillar company
The Holt Manufacturing CompanyHolt Manufacturing Company
The Holt Manufacturing Company traces its roots to the 1883 establishment of Stockton Wheel Service in Stockton, California, United States. Benjamin Holt, who was later credited with patenting the first workable crawler tractor design, incorporated the Holt Manufacturing Company in 1892...
in Stockton, California
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
had successfully built crawler-type tractors and in 1909 began looking for manufacturing facilities closer to the vast agricultural markets in the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
farm belt. Company President Benjamin Holt
Benjamin Holt
Benjamin Leroy Holt was an American inventor who was the first to patent and manufacture a first practical crawler-type tread tractor. The continuous-type track is used for heavy agricultural and engineering vehicles to spread the weight over a large area to prevent the vehicle from sinking into...
dispatched his nephew, Pliny E. Holt in March 1909 to find another plant. He met Murray Baker
Murray M. Baker
Murray Morrison Baker was the first executive vice president of Holt Manufacturing Company that became Caterpillar Tractor Company....
, an implement dealer, who knew of a factory already equipped to manufacture farm implements and steam traction engine
Traction engine
A traction engine is a self-propelled steam engine used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin tractus, meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engine is to draw a load behind it...
s 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 Feb 15, 1910 with 12 employees. The "Holt Caterpillar Company" was incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
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
Avery Co.
Avery Company was an American farm tractor builder, famed for its undermounted engine, in that the tractor more resembled a railroad engine in a farmer's field, than a conventional farm steam engine....
. Holt was credited with producing the first practical continuous tracks for use with tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s 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
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. 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
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, with the problem of trench warfare
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
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 75 hp 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.
Notable people
- Joe GirardiJoe GirardiJoseph Elliott Girardi is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager of the New York Yankees. During a 15-year playing career, he played from 1989–2003 for the Chicago Cubs, the Colorado Rockies, the New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals...
, former Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player; current MLB manager: New York YankeesNew York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division... - Sam KinisonSam KinisonSamuel Burl "Sam" Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison was known for his intense, harsh and politically incorrect genre humor...
, comedian, actor - Roger PhegleyRoger PhegleyRoger Dale Phegley is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'6" 205 lb shooting guard, he played college basketball at Bradley University and had a career in the NBA from 1978 to 1984...
, former NBANational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player - Gary RichrathGary RichrathGary Richrath is an American guitarist, best known as a member of the band REO Speedwagon from 1970 until 1989...
, guitarist and songwriter: formerly of REO SpeedwagonREO SpeedwagonREO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US... - Matt Hale, White Supremacist, Third Pontifex Maximus of Creativity (religion)Creativity (religion)Creativity is a nontheistic, ethnocentric religion founded in 1973 by Ben Klassen with the publication of the book Nature's Eternal Religion and was later expounded upon in the books The White Man's Bible, and Salubrious Living...
Sentenced to a 40-year prison term for soliciting an undercover FBI informant to kill federal judge Joan Lefkow. Currently incarcerated in the Administrative Maximum facility in Florence, Colorado as Inmate number 15177-424.
External links
- City of East Peoria — official site
- East Peoria Times-Courier — newspaper