HOW  PEORIA  GREW

                                                      NORMAN  V.  KELLY

 

Ever wonder why Peoria, Illinois grew head and shoulders above all the other towns and village that were located along the Illinois River? Way back in 1845 when Peoria became a city all those other towns from Joliet, Ottawa, Chillicothe, Lacon and all the rest wanted to grow.  Why did Peoria leave them in the dust?  Why us?

 

A one-word answer could simply be whiskey. That’s right, alcohol, beer, good old Peoria whiskey. After all, although the numbers varied we had as many as 8 breweries here at one time or the other and 17 distilleries. Most of the time the largest distillery was in America was right here in River City. I’ve heard some so-called historians say they located here because of the ‘water.’ Well, hell, the other towns had water…after all we are talking about living on the banks of the Illinois River. I can imagine that all of those towns would have given most anything just to have one brewery…one distillery, but we seemed to have them all. Pekin always seemed to have one…but they are small now and they never grew anywhere near the proportions that we did.

 

Peoria was just another trading village like so many others. We have a colorful history of French, English, Spanish and Indian influence here but I fail to see how that helped us in our growth. What did the Peoria Indians ever do for us?  Nothing! The Peoria tribe was booted out of here in 1720 by another tribe of Indians and in early 1800 they were driven from the state. They ended up in Kansas and Oklahoma and I fail to see where the history people in our town consider the Peoria Indian our heritage. What a joke. They make a big deal out of our so-called full-blooded Peoria Indian Chief…George Finley. What a joke. He was never in Peoria and he was NEVER a full- blooded Peoria Indian. The Peoria Indian is our namesake.  How did they figure in Peoria’s heritage?  That’s just the local historical folks and the chamber of commerce at work attracting visitors to bask in “Our great Indian heritage.”                       

 

                                     BY THE NUMBERS

 

Number One:  So the number one reason for our growth was the distillery.

One by one those distilleries were set up here for many reasons. The  expansive river waterway helped us.  Cheap and plentiful labor played a big role and the large number of farmers in Peoria County and surrounding counties helped us a great deal.  The bountiful crops that supplied the distillery’s needs were available throughout our history.  Peoria alone is 626 square miles and I think we are close to 28 miles wide.  Just think of it all those farms, and all that crop production, and here in town a ready and eager market.  Remember, all those farmers had about 72 years of selling everything they could grow to Peorians, our breweries and distilleries and as our population grew, the farmer flourished. They managed to survive because of the incredible success of Peoria, Illinois and a lot of back breaking hard work.

 

By 1850 Peoria had just over 6,000 people living within the city limits,  which included only a little over one square mile..   

 

So we have the distillery, the brewery, and the farm. Three ingredients for growth…believe me, it was a wonderful combination.  Friendship played a major role in bringing in other distilleries to our area. Aggressive mayors and political representatives sold the idea to these companies and they bought it.  In plain old Peoria jargon…we wanted them here…and they came.

 

Also…by 1917 when Woodrow Wilson enacted a temporary law…which ended up being permanent…THE WARTIME PROHIBBITION ACT.

There were already 20 states in the Union that were already DRY.  Truth is, we can thank Wayne B. Wheeler for that law, but that is another story for another time. Now where would you want to set up a distillery that was just kicked out of say…Iowa for example? You bet you would move it to a wet state and a city that welcomed you with open arms…namely Peoria, Illinois. So there were many reasons they came here…don’t buy into that phony ‘water’ theory the historians try to sell.

 

So here are the reasons again why Peoria grew.

 

l. Distilleries. 2. Breweries. 3. Farms.  4. Population growth, which meant job seekers. Job seekers in abundance meant that the industries would gather where the workers were plentiful and eager to gain employment.  The more workers the cheaper the product is to produce.  5. Horses and Livery Stables. 6. Great waterway for Steamboats, paddleboats and other river craft. 7. We had railroads here in Peoria, Illinois.   At one time we had 14 RR companies in and out of Peoria. 8. Peoria had a huge stockyard that flourished here in Peoria from 1842 until 1967.  Early on we led the nation in livestock processing.   It was said to have been a 26 million dollar annual business early on in our history and all it did was grow.

 

HORSES. We had 15 huge livery stables here in Peoria at one time and horses were KINGS.  Peoria had a national and international history for breeding, selling and racing of horses. Peoria was loaded with thoroughbreds, trotters and pacers and lots of riding and workhorses. This was a massive business in Peoria, Illinois.  All of that activity created jobs, which certainly helped the farmer and the city dweller as well. The farm business spawned tractor and farming equipment and eventually led to HOLT and then Caterpillar and Letourneau. Avery in Averyville flourished and soon Peoria annexed that small town and that factory.  It was a battle that did not end until 1928 when the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in Peoria’s favor.  In Bartonville there was Keystone Steel and Wire Company but Peoria was unable to obtain that area. 

 

All those jobs brought people into our city. During the Prohibition era according to the 1930 census, Peoria grew by 28,848 people and I am talking about the city only.  Prohibition and the Wartime Conservation Act hit us hard here in Peoria since all the breweries and distilleries shut down. The next devastating blow was the closing of all of our taverns on January 16, 1920.

 

Peoria was a city on the grow and it can all be traced to Beer…Booze…Farms…Horses…Railroads…Stockyards, and early on,  the incredible steamboat. So, that’s how Peoria grew, and I can tell you there is  a remarkable history connected within those years.

 

All that created a downtown that grew by leaps and bounds…hotels, restaurants, theaters and other small businesses popped up like mushrooms in early May. Peoria was the place to be. Located between Saint Louis and Chicago, we were the place to meet. Our Theater history was colorful and extremely active. There truly was no place like Peoria, Illinois.

 

We always had gambling and other vices, but it really got its hold during Prohibition. A gambling town, bawdy and wild, Peoria was the place that people wanted to visit. We were called a Podunk town, a country bumpkin town and maligned, but through it all we thrived.

 

We had gambling and prostitution which gave us a bawdy even phony gangster reputation. Most of what you heard was myth but we loved to perpetuate it just the same.   Peoria, Illinois…meant DOWNTOWN. Once the do-gooders took over the city it simply began to disappear until there was a time when people simply stopped going downtown. Most of the restaurants were gone, along with the businesses…no doctors, nothing.  Television pretty much single-handedly shut down our movie theaters and when Sheridan Village opened in March of 1954 that was the beginning of the end.  Downtown Peoria, Illinois, is pretty much just a memory to most of us that are in our middle seventies and beyond.  That’s okay with us, it’s like we have our own Brigadoon.  All we have to do is talk about the way it used to be…and the city seems to reappear.  It’s all a dream however, and as for me, Peoria will never be the same.  Perhaps that is best…after all.

 

Editor’s Note:   Got a question of a comment…Norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net