Peoria County, Illinois

Peoria County, Illinois
Seal
Location in the state of Illinois
Illinois's location in the U.S.
Founded	1825
Seat	Peoria
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	630.60 sq mi (1,633 km²) 619.21 sq mi (1,604 km²) 11.39 sq mi (29 km²), 1.81%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	186,494 295/sq mi (114/km²)
Website	www.co.peoria.il.us

Peoria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 186,494, which is an increase of 1.7% from 183,433 in 2000. Its county seat is Peoria.

Peoria County is part of the Peoria, Illinois, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Peoria County was formed in 1825 out of Fulton County. It was named for the Peoria, an Illiniwek people who lived there. It included most of the western valley of the Illinois River up to the Chicago river portage.

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  Peoria County for the first year after its creation, including a large tract of unorganized territory temporarily attached to it.

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  Peoria County between 1826 and 1827. The newly created Mercer and Warren Counties were temporarily attached to Peoria until county governments could be organized.

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  Peoria County between 1827 and 1830. The creation of Tazewell County left Peoria with only a small tract of unorganized territory east of the Illinois River, whose border was not defined.

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  In 1830, Warren County organized a government.

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  In 1831, Peoria County's present borders were established and Mercer County was attached to Warren.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 630.60 square miles (1,633.2 km²), of which 619.21 square miles (1,603.7 km²) (or 98.19%) is land and 11.39 square miles (29.5 km²) (or 1.81%) is water.

Townships

Townships are given by relative location.

Millbrook	Princeville	Akron	Hallock	Chillicothe
Brimfield	Jubilee	Radnor	Medina
Elmwood	Rosefield	Kickapoo	Richwoods	City of Peoria
Trivoli	Logan	Limestone	West Peoria
	Timber	Hollis

Adjacent counties

• Stark County - north
• Marshall County - northeast
• Woodford County - east
• Tazewell County - south
• Fulton County - southwest
• Knox County - northwest

Cities and towns

• Bartonville
• Bellevue
• Brimfield
• Chillicothe
• Dunlap
• Elmwood
• Glasford
• Hanna City
• Kingston Mines
• Mapleton
• Norwood
• Peoria
• Peoria Heights
• Princeville
• Rome
• West Peoria

Unincorporated communities

• Alta
• Cramers
• Edelstein
• Edgewater
• Edwards
• El Vista — now a neighborhood in Peoria
• Elmore
• Galena Knolls
• High Meadows
• Holmes Center
• Lake Camelot
• Lake Lancelot
• Lake of the Woods
• Laura
• Lawn Ridge
• Mardell Manor - a subdivision to the north of Bartonville, of which, the eastern-half has been incorporated into the Village of Bartonville.
• Mossville
• North Hampton
• Oak Hill
• Orchard Mines
• Pottstown
• Renchville
• Rome Heights
• Smithville
• South Rome
• Southport
• Trivoli
• Tuscarora
• Vets Row
• Vonachen Knolls
• West Hallock

Transportation

Major highways

• Interstate 74 in Illinois
• Interstate 155 (Illinois)
• Interstate 474
• U.S. Route 24 in Illinois
• U.S. Route 150 in Illinois
• Illinois Route 6
• Illinois Route 8
• Illinois Route 9
• Illinois Route 29
• Illinois Route 40
• Illinois Route 78
• Illinois Route 90
• Illinois Route 91
• Illinois Route 116

Defunct highways

• Illinois Route 174
• Illinois Route 175

Airports

The following public-use airports are located in the county:

• General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA), formerly Greater Peoria Regional Airport - Peoria, Illinois
• Mount Hawley Auxiliary Airport (3MY) - Peoria, Illinois

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	88,608		—
1910	100,255		13.1%
1920	111,710		11.4%
1930	141,344		26.5%
1940	153,374		8.5%
1950	174,347		13.7%
1960	189,044		8.4%
1970	195,318		3.3%
1980	200,466		2.6%
1990	182,827		−8.8%
2000	183,433		0.3%
2010	186,494		1.7%
IL Counties 1900-1990

As of the census of 2000, there were 183,433 people, 72,733 households, and 47,130 families residing in the county. The population density was 296 people per square mile (114/km²). There were 78,204 housing units at an average density of 126 per square mile (49/km²). Racial and ethical percentage of population shows that they are 79.4% of Whites, which carries 55.6% of Germans, 45.9% of Irish, and 39.7% of English ancestry. Non-white minority groups shows 16.1% Blacks and African Americans, 0.22% Native Americans, 1.7% Asians, 0.03% Pacific Islanders, 0.95% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. 2% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

There were 72,733 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,705, and the median income for a family was $50,592. Males had a median income of $40,840 versus $25,335 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,219. About 10% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

• Glasford crater
• Jubilee College State Park

See also: Peoria, Illinois#Points of interest

Climate and weather

Peoria, Illinois
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.5   31 14     1.7   37 20     2.8   49 30     3.6   62 40     4.2   73 51     3.8   82 60     4   86 65     3.2   84 63     3.1   77 54     2.8   64 42     3   49 31     2.4   35 20 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     38   -1 -10     42   3 -7     72   9 -1     90   17 4     106   23 11     98   28 16     102   30 18     80   29 17     79   25 12     70   18 6     76   9 -1     61   2 -7 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Peoria have ranged from a low of 14 °F (−10 °C) in January to a high of 86 °F (30 °C) in July, although a record low of −27 °F (−33 °C) was recorded in January 1884 and a record high of 113 °F (45 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 1.50 inches (38 mm) in January to 4.17 inches (106 mm) in May.

Notable residents

See also: List of people from Peoria, Illinois

People from Peoria County other than in the city of Peoria:

• Chris Brackett, host of Arrow Affliction on The Sportsman Channel
• Mike Dunne, pitcher for several Major League Baseball teams
• Jim Thome, first baseman for several Major League Baseball teams
• Bill Krieg, Major League Baseball player
• Lance (Henry) LeGault, TV and movie actor: Colonel Roderick Decker on The A-Team
• Johnston McCulley, pulp fiction author: creator of Zorro
• David Ogden Stiers, actor, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on M*A*S*H
• Josh Taylor, TV actor: Chris Kostichek on the soap opera Days of our Lives
• Zach McAllister, Major League Baseball player: Cleveland Indians pitcher
• Richard Pryor, Actor, Comedian
• Sam Kinison, Preacher, Actor, Comedian

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Peoria County, Illinois

External links

• Peoria Co., IL Saving Graves