Early Settlement (continued)

  Peoria

The first non-French European settlers arrive in Peoria from St. Louis on a keelboat in April 1819 to find two deserted log cabins and remnants of the fort. In June, Captain J. Warner and his men arrive by keelboat from St. Louis to catch and pack fish (Johnson and Company 1880). Several of the latter party decide to remain in the vicinity.

In 1821 a family from Massachusetts, representing the American Fur Company, establishes an Indian trading post in 1822. The population of Peoria continues to grow to 1,236 in 1825 when Peoria becomes a county. A county court house is constructed on the banks of the Illinois River south of the old Fort Clark (Johnson and Company 1880).

Drinking water is plentiful and of good quality as settlers arrive in Peoria. There are three sources of good quality water. The lower part of the city is built on a plateau of porous gravel that is always saturated with water and so is easily accessible by sinking wells. For those settling further back toward the bluff, there are numerous springs “which flow(ed) out in copious streams from its base” (Johnson & Company 1880), providing sufficient drinking water for the new residents. Others dig cisterns that collect rainwater from rooftops, and with only minor filtering, “make this rain-water all that could be desired for drinking and household purposes” (Johnson & Company 1880).

  East Peoria

Charles and Theodore Sargent and Dave Barnes see the fertile land across the river from Fort Clark (now Peoria) and begin raising tomatoes shortly after 1818. They live at Fort Clark and cross the river to farm. In 1831, David Schertz arrives from Alsace-Lorraine and obtains a deed for 160 acres of land across the river from Fort Clark. Other settlers soon follow, and the typical pattern of development progresses. Almiron S. Cole arrives, opens a mercantile business, then begins to operate a passenger steamer between La Salle and Peoria and, in 1844, opens a distillery. The town is established as Bluetown, then as the Village of Hilton, and finally becomes East Peoria in 1889 (Village Profile).

  Beardstown

Mr. Thomas Beard, the first settler, arrives on horseback at Beardstown in 1819, builds a cabin upon the steep bank of the river at the present foot of State Street, and begins business as a trader among Indians. His choice of a cabin site proves unfortunate; the next spring he discovers that he built the cabin upon a snake den, so “...when the weather was warm many thousands of them of all kinds came out of the bank by his cabin.” (Schweer1925). Beardstown, too, experiences explosive growth in the coming years.

  Pekin

The first settler in Pekin, Jonathan Tharp, arrives in 1824, erects a small cabin and begins to farm the land. Mr. Tharp establishes the first commercial development in Pekin, opening a smokehouse in 1827. In 1829, the county surveyor lays out a town site, and an auction is held to sell the town plat. Mrs. Cromwell, wife to one of the owners of the town plat, names Pekin after Peking, “China’s City of the Sun.” The town continues to grow, with a population of 1,500 by 1849. Industries such as a reaper manufacturer, a packing plant, and a distillery are established in the 1850s’ (Community Profile Network 2000).

The population continues to grow rapidly within the Illinois River basin as technological advancements are made and immigrants move into the area. The fate of the river is in the hands of these settlers.