81 topographic sheets cover 53 settlements here, and 35 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 National Register listings published here · the county-history sources name 1 person · people the book names include Joseph Clute Brimfield Directory (Brimfield Township, 1880) (machine-read).
Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the National Register database, National Park Service
Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 31 of them, burning about 335 acres. None started naturally and 1 was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 19 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. One of them was set deliberately.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 200 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2018189 |
| 26 March 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 25 acres | Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 22 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 25 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2018212 |
| 29 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 25 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2018220 |
| 4 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 15 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2018170 |
| 23 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2018188 |
| 21 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 269 |
| 23 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.5 acres | Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 712 reports for this county, causing 2 deaths, 41 injuries and about $259,487,200 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 390 |
| Hail | 235 |
| Flash Flood | 39 |
| Tornado | 32 |
| Lightning | 9 |
| Flood | 7 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2013 | Flood | North Chillicothe | 1 killed, $28,000,000 | High impact flooding on the Illinois River continued from April.||Numerous homes along the Illinois River in Chillicothe, Rome, Mossville and Mapleton suffered flood damage due to record river levels. Several businesses were damaged, and numerous streets were flooded, along the Illinois River in downtown Peoria. A total of 505 homes and businesses were damaged by the flooding in Peoria County. Early in the morning on May 4th a man drowned when he drove his vehicle into the floodwaters northeast of downtown Peoria. High impact flooding subsided when the river level at Peoria fell below a stage of 22 feet on May 8th. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Peoria Hgts | 1 killed | A 40-foot long 6-inch diameter tree branch snapped and hit a 39 year-old man. He later died of his injuries. A 40-50mph wind gust along an outflow boundary from a thunderstorm about 20 miles away caused the branch to fall. |
| September 1965 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | 30 hurt, $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | 4 hurt, $1,100,000 | no account filed |
| April 2013 | Flash Flood | Sankoty | 2 hurt, $100,000,000 | Torrential rainfall of 4.00 to 8.00 inches resulted in damage to thousands of houses and businesses in the county, including the city of Peoria where two houses collapsed into the basement injuring two people. Every creek and stream in the county was flooded. Nearly every road in the county was impassable, including parts of Interstate 74 which had to be closed. Numerous water rescues were made. Mudslides were also reported along the eastern bluffs along the Illinois River. |
| May 2017 | Lightning | Coughlin | 2 hurt | A thunderstorm triggered a lightning strike at an outdoor music festival near Chillicothe in northeast Peoria County. Two people were injured. |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Peoria | 1 hurt, $5,000 | A 30-square-foot brick facade of a building collapsed, injuring one person in a car, near downtown Peoria. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Peoria | 1 hurt | A large tree limb was blown down onto a van. A roofer was blown off a roof and injured. |
| May 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | not stated | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Tornado (EF2) | Elmwood | $85,000,000 | A tornado crossed the Knox-Peoria County line 1.1 miles west of Elmwood, then continued southeastward through the town of Elmwood. Considerable structural damage occurred to 10 homes, 30 businesses and nearly two dozen vehicles in downtown Elmwood, amounting to approximately $85 million in damages. There was a total of about 80 people, some that were attending an outdoor festival in the downtown and some that were at a theater, that took shelter in the basement of the movie theater. As a result, there were no injuries. The tornado dissipated 1 mile east of Elmwood. |
| June 2013 | Flash Flood | Elmore | $30,000,000 | Thunderstorms moving over the same areas multiple times resulted in 3.00 to 7.50 inches of rain in the northeast half of Peoria County during the early morning hours of June 24th. The locations that experienced the greatest impacts from the flooding included Princeville, Rome, Mossville, Dunlap and the north and west portions of the city of Peoria. Multiple roads were closed, motorists were stranded and homes were flooded. Several state highways were impassable, including Highway 6, 29, 40, 78, 90 and 91. A box culvert was also damaged on a rural road outside of Princeville. This was the second major flash flood to impact Peoria County since mid-April. Most of the flash flooding subsided by mid-afternoon. |
| May 1961 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| November 2016 | Hail | Elmwood | $2,000,000 | Wind-driven hail caused significant damage to the roofs and siding of 50 houses in Elmwood. One house suffered a broken window. Numerous cars were damaged as well. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elmwood | $1,100,000 | A grain bin was blown down. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down as well. Most homes in the town of Elmwood experienced damage due to falling trees and limbs. |
| March 2016 | Tornado (EF2) | Trivoli | $1,000,000 | A tornado touched down 2 miles northwest of Trivoli just west of Quarry Road at 7:42 PM CDT. A garage and house roofs were damaged, a car was picked up and thrown 50 yards into a field, a pickup truck was damaged, and several trees were snapped. As the tornado approached Trivoli Road, it developed multiple vorticies and widened to about one quarter of a mile across. Several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed, house roofs were damaged, and numerous trees were uprooted. Near Texas Road and Cottonwood Road, a church roof was severely damaged and several trees were snapped. As the tornado continued tracking to the northeast, more outbuildings and trees were damaged. The worst damage occurred at a residence on Southport Road between Cutoff Road and Kramm Road, where the roof was completely torn off a house, outbuildings were damaged, and a tree was ripped out of the ground and thrown. The tornado then dissipated 2.7 miles southwest of Kickapoo near Kickapoo Creek at 7:57 PM CDT. |
| November 2016 | Hail | Hanna City | $500,000 | Numerous vehicles sustained hail damage in Hanna City. |
| November 2016 | Hail | Mapleton | $500,000 | Numerous cars sustained hail damage south of Peoria. |
| March 2020 | Tornado (EF1) | Bartonville | $300,000 | A tornado touched down 0.3 miles east of the Peoria Airport at 8:58 PM CDT. The tornado tracked northeastward, doing minor damage to house roofs, fences and siding in a subdivision. Business roofs were then damaged at Madison Park Shopping Center and numerous trees at Madison Park Golf Course. Several roofs were damaged in a nearby subdivision before the tornado dissipated near the eastern portion of St. Mary's Cemetery at 9:03 PM CDT. |
| April 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elmore | $275,000 | Twenty train cars were blown off the tracks and between 4 and 6 power poles were knocked down west of Laura. |
| March 2016 | Tornado (EF0) | Pottstown | $260,000 | A tornado touched down 4 miles northwest of Peoria just northwest of the intersection of Richwoods Boulevard and Molleck Drive at 8:05 PM CDT. Damage was done to the roof, gutters, soffit, and ceiling tiles of the St. Francis Woods Supportive Living Center. The tornado intermittently touched down along a path to the northeast through the city of Peoria. Damage was done to roofs and trees near University and Christine, the Farmer's Market at the Metro Centre shopping facility, and trees at the Donovan Golf Course. The tornado broke a pole, snapped a tree that fell into a garage, and damaged shingles and siding in Peoria Heights on Prospect and Wickwood Roads. The tornado then dissipated 1 mile northwest of Peoria Heights before it approached Forest Park at 8:14 PM CDT. |
| July 1981 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 1976 | Tornado (F4) | not stated | $250,000 | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Keller | $200,000 | Numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down. |
| June 2012 | Lightning | Dunlap | $200,000 | A lightning strike set a house on fire on Pauli Road in Dunlap. The house burned to the ground and was a total loss. |
| June 2010 | Tornado (EF1) | Kramm | $170,000 | A tornado touched down 4 miles west-southwest of Kickapoo, then continued eastward across southern Peoria County, eventually lifting 0.7 miles north of Edwards. Numerous trees and tree branches were blown down along the path of the tornado. A large barn was destroyed and the siding was stripped off the east side of another barn. In addition, large trees were blown down onto two homes, causing considerable roof damage. |
| September 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Chillicothe | $150,000 | Several trees were blown down, including one that damaged a car and part of a house. |
| September 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellevue | $110,000 | Power lines were blown down, power poles were snapped, there was extensive damage to trees, and some house roof damage was reported due to falling trees in the Lake Camelot subdivision. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | El Vista | $100,000 | Multiple large tree limbs and power lines were blown down. Some streets were blocked by fallen trees. |
| November 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elmwood | $100,000 | The roof of an apartment building was blown off. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cramers | $100,000 | A one stall garage was destroyed. A 50 by 70-foot storage building was thrown on top of another small storage building. |
| June 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Orange Prairie | $100,000 | A tornado touched down 6.5 miles northwest of Peoria then continued northeastward through the Bridalwood Drive neighborhood just east of Route 6. Numerous trees were snapped and several homes experienced shingle damage. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Peoria | $100,000 | A 14-inch tree was snapped at the junction of US-150 and IL-6. Numerous other trees were blown down around the city of Peoria. In addition, multiple power outages were reported. |
| November 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dunlap | $85,000 | Two grain bins, a conveyor belt, and two small buildings were damaged in Dunlap. |
| June 2010 | Tornado (EF1) | Southport | $85,000 | A tornado touched down 2.6 miles east of Elmwood, then continued eastward across southern Peoria County. Numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down along the path of the tornado. In addition, shingles were stripped off a home, a small shed was destroyed, and a grain bin was blown one quarter of a mile into a field. The tornado lifted 4.1 miles west-southwest of Kickapoo. |
| March 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Long Shr Park | $80,000 | Several trees and power lines were blown down. |
| February 2017 | Tornado (EF0) | Edgewater Terrace | $75,000 | A weak tornado touched down 0.9 miles west-southwest of Rome at 5:15 PM CST. The tornado tracked through Rome, before lifting just before reaching the Illinois River at 5:17 PM CST. Minor damage occurred to a few buildings and several trees. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sherwood Forest | $75,000 | Numerous trees were damaged and power lines were blown down in the city of Peoria. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Peoria | $75,000 | Numerous tree limbs and power lines were blown down near the Peoria Airport. Siding and shingles were stripped off several houses east of the airport. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | El Vista | $70,000 | A large billboard was blown over near the intersection of Gift Avenue and Sheridan Road. The steel beams supporting the sign were bent about halfway. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Peoria Hgts | $70,000 | Numerous tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Peoria Heights. |
| August 2011 | Hail | Mapleton | $70,000 | Hail up to 1.50 inches in diameter damaged four cars, and did shingle damage to several houses. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Peoria | $65,000 | Numerous large tree branches were blown down around Peoria. A firetruck was struck by a falling tree. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bartonville | $60,000 | Numerous large trees and power lines were blown down. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Peoria | $60,000 | Numerous tree limbs were blown onto powerlines throughout the city of Peoria. |
| August 2022 | Lightning | Princeville | $50,000 | A house was struck by lightning near the intersection of Highway 91 and Streitmatter Road causing a fire that damaged the attic. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bellevue | $50,000 | Several trees were blown down. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Long Shr Park | $50,000 | Thunderstorm winds damaged a home that was under construction. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Hampton | $50,000 | Several power poles were blown down along Krause Road between Cloverdale and Spillman Roads. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Peoria | $50,000 | Numerous tree limbs were blown down in Peoria. |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brimfield | $50,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew down a large tree onto a mobile home in Brimfield. The tree caused moderate damage to the home. Also, another mobile home nearby had a small storage shed blown up against it. No injuries were reported and damage to the mobile home was estimated around $50,000. |
| August 2008 | Lightning | Alta | $45,000 | Lightning struck two houses in the same neighborhood in the far northern sections of the city of Peoria. Both houses were set on fire as a result of the lightning. One house had minor damage to the roof and siding, while the other house lost the entire roof. There were no injuries. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Brimfield | $40,000 | Several trees were blown down. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | $40,000 | Several trees were blown down. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rome | $40,000 | Several trees were blown into power lines in Rome. |
| November 2013 | Tornado (EF0) | Orchard Mines | $40,000 | A tornado touched down in far eastern Peoria County about 4 miles ENE of Mapleton at 10:52 AM CST. The tornado uprooted dozens of trees and snapped several power poles before crossing the Illinois River into Tazewell County at 10:53 AM CST. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dunlap | $35,000 | A tree was blown onto a home at 4th Street and Birch Street and large tree branches were blown onto another home at 5th Street and Birch Street in Dunlap. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Elmwood | $35,000 | Numerous trees up to 12 inches in diameter were blown over on the southeast side of Elmwood. |
| June 2018 | Lightning | Long Shr Park | $32,000 | A lightning strike caused a house fire on Willard Road in Peoria Heights. The electricity from the strike was carried to a second house, causing a fire two doors down. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Dunlap | $30,000 | A township outbuilding was damaged. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeville | $30,000 | The roof of a greenhouse was damaged just west of Princeville. |
The Survey's mineral resources record lists 23 workings inside this county. 6 still produce and 17 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Sand and Gravel, Construction | 13 |
| Stone, Crushed/Broken | 9 |
| Clay | 1 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Run Creek Shale Exposure | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Long Rock Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Peoria City Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Princeville Stone Co. Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Chillicothe Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Chillicothe Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Chipman Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Giles Property | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Joos Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Jubilee Materials Inc. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Kickapoo Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Oak Hill Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Peoria Blacktop Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Riverside Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Stevers Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Stoekers Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Theodore Schaer Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a History of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Etc. .. devotes a chapter to each township: its boundaries and streams, who settled it and when, the mills, the schools and the churches. All 18 are reproduced here in full. Each row shows the township's own shape and where it lies in the county, drawn from the Census Bureau's boundary. Which settlements belong to which township is computed from that same boundary, not taken from the book.
One book written about this county, cut here where the book itself is cut, at its printed chapters: 38 chapters in all. Every chapter is public domain, machine-read from the scan and reproduced complete. A chapter already given under one of the county's towns is not repeated in this list.
Everyone The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a History of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the County, Its Early Settlement, Growth, Development, Resources, Etc., Etc. .. stops to write about, with the section that describes them. Among them are the men who founded the place and governed the Territory. Each name opens the passage itself, in the words of 1880.
Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.
Chillicothe township · 61523 · On Senachwine Creek · Chillicothe quadrangle
19 sheets, 1893 to 1990
Kickapoo township · 61528 · On Deer Lick Creek · Peoria West quadrangle
19 sheets, 1905 to 1996
Timber township · 61539 · On Little Lamarsh Creek · Glasford quadrangle
15 sheets, 1930 to 1996
Limestone township · 61547 · On Largent Creek · Peoria West quadrangle
19 sheets, 1905 to 1996
Hollis township · 61547 · On Little Lamarsh Creek · Pekin quadrangle
18 sheets, 1905 to 1996
Medina township · 61552 · Near Strawberry Hollow · Spring Bay quadrangle
23 sheets, 1893 to 1996
Chillicothe township · 61523 · On Hallock Creek · Rome quadrangle
20 sheets, 1893 to 1990
Kickapoo township · 61615 · On Big Hollow Creek · Peoria West quadrangle
19 sheets, 1905 to 1996
Peoria City township · 61615 · By High Point · Spring Bay quadrangle
23 sheets, 1893 to 1996
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