Peoria is an unincorporated town in Butler Township

Butler Township, Miami County, Indiana

Butler Township is one of fourteen townships in Miami County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 838.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Butler Township covers an area of ; of this, is land and is water.-Unincorporated towns:* New Santa Fe at * Oakley...

, Miami County

Miami County, Indiana

As of the census of 2000, there were 36,082 people, 13,716 households, and 9,806 families residing in the county. The population density was 96 people per square mile . There were 15,299 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. Named for the Peoria Clan, a subgroup of the Miami Indian Nation that still inhabits Miami County, Peoria has deep roots in the integration of Native Americans and Indiana settlers in the mid-19th century.

Established in the 1840's by the Litzenberger brothers, Peoria was once known as "Pucker Brush." The white settlers found prosperity similar to that experienced by the Native Americans in this region of the Mississinewa River. A ford and trading post made Peoria a convenient stop for people between the larger neaby communities of Peru, Wabash and Marion. It is located near the Miami Indian historic trading grounds known as "Seven Pillars."

Peoria Church

The Peoria Church and Peoria Cemetery are the only remaining institutions from the pioneer days. Peoria Church was founded by an early Butler Township settler, Benjamin Hahn. Hahn, and his wife Anna, lost their firstborn son in the area of Pucker Brush and decided to stay. In a revival meeting in 1856, Hahn had a Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 conversion experience and started a Church on his homestead. The congregation is an independent community Church with many connections to Hahn and other pioneer families. There are 75 members and the congregation remains active in the community as a house of worship and provider of charitable assistance in the community.

Mississinewa Reservoir and Other Attractions

In 1962, the Army Corps of Engineers began the Mississinewa Reservoir project and moved both the Church and cemetery about 1/4 mile. The reservoir is still a major year-round attraction for hunters and fishermen and a summer draw for boaters, swimmers, campers and hikers. There are a number of fishing and State Recreation areas adjacent to the reservoir.

Other area attractions include the Frances Slocum

Frances Slocum

Frances Slocum was an adopted member of the Miami tribe taken from her family home by the Lenape in Pennsylvania at the age of five and raised in what is now Indiana. Her burial site is a Miami Indian shrine near Peoria, Miami County, Indiana.Frances was part of a family of early Quaker settlers...

 Burial Site and Cemetery (a Miami Indian shrine), the Chief Richardville home, the Peru Circus Hall of Fame, Cole Porter

Cole Porter

Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...

's family farm, the "Old Fashioned Garden" (popularized by Cole Porter) and Seven Pillars.

Students from Peoria attend Maconaquah Schools.

Geography

Peoria is located at 40°43′07"N 85°57′38"W. The terrain is rolling and bisected by the Missinewa River. Non-agricultural lands are predominantly wooded by native Indiana hardwoods.