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 Peoria - History

The city of Peoria is the oldest civilized settlement in the state of Illinois. The City and County take their name from the Peoria Indians, one of the tribes of the Illiniwek Indian nations who inhabited the Illinois River Valley. The name "Peoria" has been translated to mean "Prairie Fire that Wanders About," and it appears that the Peoria Indians did move their settlement about the river valley.

French explorers were the first to hear about an area the Indians called "Mississippi," which meant "Great Water." In May of 1673, the French sent and expedition to explore the course of this river. Louis Joliet, a cartographer and merchant who had already discovered Lake Erie, was accompanied by a Jesuit missionary, Pere Jacques Marquette, and five canoe paddlers. The men in this expedition were the first Europeans to see the region where the city of Peoria now stands.

In January of 1680, Robert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle accompanied by Father Louis Hennepin, Henry de Tonti and about thirty other men came down the Illinois River and erected Fort Creve Coeur on the southeast bank of the river just below Peoria Lake. Thus, the french flag was the first to fly over the area, but the fort was abandoned just a few months after it was built.

Henry de Tonti established very friendly relations with the Illiniwek Indians. After establishing Fort Saint Louis at Starved Rock, de Tonti was advised by the Indian chiefs to move the fort to the Peoria Lake area in the winter of 1691-92, because of the abundance of game. The Indians called Peoria Lake "Pimiteoui" which means "Fat Lake"; so de Tonti established Fort Pimiteoui on the west side of the Illinois River and this became the first permanent village in what is now the state of Illinois.

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