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A special census was conducted in 2004 which noted a 5,200 increase in city population, mainly in the northwest corridor. The metropolitan area has a population of 370,000 which includes parts of Peoria , Tazewell , Woodford , Stark and Marshall Counties . Peoria has been awarded the All-America City Award three times. The city of Peoria is home to Bradley University , the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League , a Federal Courthouse , the Peoria Civic Center (which includes Carver Arena ), and the world headquarters for Caterpillar Inc. Medicine has become a major part of Peoria's economy. The USDA 's National Center For Agricultural Utilization Research , formerly called the USDA Northern Lab, is where mass production of Penicillin was developed. The city has three major hospitals plus the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine at Peoria, the Midwest Affiliate of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Children's Hospital of Illinois. Recently St. Francis Medical Center, already the ninth largest Catholic hospital in the nation, has announced a $245 million expansion in its downtown campus which will provide a larger and separate entrance into the Children's Hospital and will house more adult and children facilities. This will create 850 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent healthcare-related jobs. Grandview Drive , which Teddy Roosevelt is said to have called the "world's most beautiful drive", runs through Peoria and Peoria Heights . In addition to Grand View Drive, the Peoria Park District boasts nine thousand acres (36 km&2) of parks, including Glen Oak Zoo and five public Golf Course s. There are also several private and semi-private golf courses. The Peoria Park District was the 2001 Winner of the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation for Class II Parks. The city of Peoria, through its Peoria NEXT initiative is creating Renaissance Park - a collaboration of the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Bradley University, Methodist Medical Center, OSF St. Francis Medical Center, Caterpillar Inc., and other prominent corporate leadership. This incubator will serve to provide leadership in discovery, innovation and commercialization in the areas of life sciences, material sciences, and engineering sciences. Several successful ventures have already been created included Firefly Inc ( a recent winner of a lucrative federal contract for new battery technology) and I-Soy - which will provide innovation to the beauty industry. Peoria is also planning for a new $100 million plus modern and edgy designed Museum Square housing the Central Illinois Regional Museum and Caterpillar Visitors Center in the heart of Downtown Peoria. The Peoria Civic Center is also in the process of a $55 million revitalization and expansion to its facilities based on demand for larger conventions and entertainment venues. Peoria also boosts a lively cultural scene. The city maintains a symphony orchestra (10th oldest in the nation), Opera Illinois, two ballet companies - Peoria Ballet and the Illinois Ballet, Peoria Municipal Band, Peoria Area Civic Chorale, several community and professional theatres, including the 4th oldest community theatre in the nation and oldest in Illinois - Peoria Players, Central Illinois Youth Symphony, Lakeview Museum for the Arts and Sciences, Wheels o' Time Museum, The Contemporary Art Center of Peoria, The Peoria Art Guild and Galleries - host of the Annual Art Fair that is rated as one of the best professional art fairs in the nation, comedy clubs, as well as several venues for a variety of traveling shows and concerts including major Broadway touring companies. Peoria is also embarking on major renovations and expansion to Glen Oak Zoo. This will triple the size of the zoo and will have a major African safari exhibit. The zoo begins this renovation in Spring of 2006 and will be renamed Peoria Zoo and Gardens. Peoria also enjoys a wide variety of professional and amateur sports. Peoria is home to the AHL Peoria Rivermen, Class A Minor League Baseball team - Peoria Chiefs, and UIF Arena Football - Peoria Rough Riders. The Peoria Chiefs play at the new O'Brien Field stadium in downtown Peoria. The community also enjoys collegiate basketball with the Bradley University Braves. Peoria is also home to original March Madness Experience for high schools and is a national model for this competition. Peoria is also home to many past high school state champions. Peoria is also the home for the Illinois Sports Hall of Fame. National amateur softball teams throughout the nation play several national championships throughout many of Peoria's premiere softball fields, mainly at the EastSide Centre in suburban East Peoria. Sporting tournaments have become a major economic force in Peoria Area tourism. The tourisim board has a separate divison dedicated solely to sports tourism. Peoria has become famous as a representation of the average American City , because of its Demographics and its perceived mainstream Midwest ern culture. On the Vaudeville circuit, it was said that if an act would succeed in Peoria, it would work anywhere. The question " Will It Play In Peoria? " has now become a Metaphor for whether something appeals to the American mainstream public, and Peoria was often used as a Test Market for new Product s. Peoria's sister cities include Friedrichshafen , Germany; Benxi , China; and Clonmel , Ireland. Peoria has also recently adopted Biloxi, Mississippi as a sister city to aid the city in recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina . GEOGRAPHY Peoria is located at 40°43'15" North, 89°36'34" West (40.720737, -89.609421). According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 120.8 Km&2 (46.6 Mi&2 ). 115.0 km&2 (44.4 mi&2) of it is land and 5.8 km&2 (2.2 mi&2) of it is water. The total area is 4.78% water. Peoria is bounded on the east by the Illinois River except for the enclave of Peoria Heights . Four bridges run directly between the city and neighboring East Peoria . On the south end of Peoria's western border are Bartonville and the newly established city of West Peoria . Local municipal plans indicate that the city intends to continue its expansion northwest, into an area unofficially considered part of Dunlap, Illinois . HISTORY The Native Americans , Michigamea , Cahokia , Tamaroa . Peoria (through French ''Peouarea'', from ''Peoria Piwarea'', 'he comes carrying a pack on his back': a personal name). One of the principal tribes of the Illinois confederacy. Franquelin in his map of 1688 , this locates them and the Tapouaro on a river west of the Mississippi above the mouth of Wisconsin River, probably the upper Iowa River . Early references to the Illinois, which place them on the Mississippi, although some of the tribes were on Rock and Illinois rivers, must relate to the Peoria and locate them near the mouth of the Wisconsin River. When Marquette and Joliet descended the Mississippi in 1673 , they found them and the Moingwena on the west side of the Mississippi, near the mouth of a river supposed to be the Des Moines , though it may have been one farther north. When Marquette returned from the south, he found that the Peoria had removed and were near the lower end of the expansion of Illinois River, near the present Peoria. At the close of the war carried on by the Sauk and Foxes and other northern tribes against the Illinois, about 1768, the Kickapoo took possession of this village and made it their principal settlement. About the same time, a large part of the Peoria crossed over into Missouri, where they remained, building their village on Blackwater fork, until they removed to Kansas . One band, the Utagami , living near the Illinois River, was practically exterminated, probably by the northern tribes, during the Revolutionary War . Utagami, according to Dr. William Jones, may mean the Foxes, who were known to the northern Algonquians as Utugamig, "people of the other shore." The Foxes claim to have annihilated the Peoria for the help they gave the French and other tribes in the wars against them (the Foxes). The main body of the Peoria remained on the east bank of the Illinois River until 1832, when, together with the other tribes of the old Illinois Confederacy, they sold to the United States their claims in Illinois and Missouri, and to the consolidated tribes, under the names of Peoria and Kaskaskia, was assigned a reservation on the Osage River, Kansas. In 1854, the Wea and Piankashaw united with them, and in 1868, the entire body removed to Indian Territory in Oklahoma , where they remained. The French 1673 Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored the shores of Peoria. 1680 Robert Cavalier Sieur de LaSalle and Henri de Tonti constructed Fort Crevecoeur on the east bank of the Illinois River. 1691 Old Peorias Fort and Village
During the 1760's Jean Baptiste Maillet, a French-Canadian, assumed a leadership role in the village. In 1773 Maillet sold his property to Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable , Peoria's most notable black settler, who later founded Chicago . With British victory in the French & Indian War in 1763, France relinquished the Illinois Territory to Great Britain . However, the British did not effectively take immediate control and the French villagers remained. In 1778 George Rogers Clark captured the Illinois Country for Virginia , and in 1784 Virginia ceded the Territory to the United States. 1778 The New Village General Clark appointed Maillet military commander in 1778. Maillet moved 1.5 miles south of the old village and built a fortified house. This settlement later became known as "LaVille de Maillet." It is now the site of downtown Peoria. The New Village had log houses and barns surrounded by gardens, orchards, and roaming farm animals. Carpenter, blacksmith, cobbler, carriage, and trading shops lined the narrow streets. The French villagers had also constructed a large windmill, winepress, an underground wine vault, and a gilt-lettered wilderness chapel. The War of 1812 American forces thought the French villagers were supporting Indian skirmishes with the westward-bound pioneers. In October 1812, they massacred the inhabitants of Chief Black Partridge's village. A few weeks later, the Americans burned French Peoria to the ground, took the inhabitants captive, and transported them down river to Alton. These acts were later condemned and the French villagers were compensated for their losses by an act of the United States Congress. The Native Americans, who for centuries had enjoyed the bounty of the Pimiteoui valley, were forced to abandon it and migrate west. The Americans
The Civil War Era The citizens of Peoria were sharply divided on the issue of slavery. Many abolition rallies were met with resistance from Southern sympathizers. The Jefferson Street home of Moses Pettengill, a wealthy local merchant, was a station on the Underground Railroad
DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census of 2000, there were 112,936 people, 45,199 households, and 27,345 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 982.1/km&2 (2,543.4/mi&2). There were 49,125 housing units at an average density of 427.2/km&2 (1,106.3/mi&2). The racial makeup of the city was 69.29% White , 24.79% African American , 0.20% Native American , 2.33% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 1.20% from Other Races , and 2.16% from two or more races. 2.51% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 45,199 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were Married Couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.04. In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,397. The Per Capita Income for the city was $20,512. 18.8% of the population were below the Poverty Line . FAMOUS CONNECTIONS TO PEORIA People born or raised in Peoria
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SEE ALSO Colleges and universities
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