Peoria Heights is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

lying almost entirely in

Peoria County Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Peoria County was ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The population was 6,156 at the 2010 census, down from 6,635 in 2000. Peoria Heights is a suburb of Peoria, is sometimes referred to as Uptown, and is surrounded by the city except for its eastern boundary on

Peoria Lake Peoria Lake is a section of the Illinois River between Peoria in Peoria County, Illinois and East Peoria in Tazewell County, Illinois. The oldest section of Peoria, the largest city on the river, lies at its shores. The lake is formed by a bro ...

, a relatively wider section of the

Illinois River The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...

. It is part of the

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Peoria Heights has a total area of , of which (or 38.03%) is land and (or 61.97%) is water. That most of the village is water is due to the fact that most of Upper Peoria Lake lies within its boundaries; this can be seen on official state maps. Topographically, the village can be roughly divided into three zones. The Illinois River

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

, the

bluff Bluff or The Bluff may refer to: Places Australia * Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town * The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich * The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality * Bluff River (New ...

, and the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

. While its eastern border is fairly regular with the river's edge, the rest of its municipal border, with Peoria, is quite irregular and convoluted. According to the Census Bureau records through 2007, Peoria Heights lies in three counties (Peoria, Woodford, and Tazewell). Peoria Heights population total (line 925): 6252 people; Richwoods Township, Peoria County, Illinois (line 5788): 6153 people; Fondulac Township, Tazewell County (line 6577): 0 people; Spring Bay Township, Woodford County (line 7280): 99 people. While neither Tazewell nor Woodford counties consider Peoria Heights to be within their jurisdiction, the state of Illinois does show that across Peoria Lake from the rest of the village, a small, uninhabited area exists both within Peoria Heights and Woodford County. However, the Census Bureau claim that Peoria Heights is also within Tazewell County is unsupported by any state, county, or municipal websites.

Landmarks

The village is perhaps most noteworthy for its Grand View Drive, a residential street on top of the bluff overlooking the Illinois River with many elegant homes and a

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offer ...

. The road also has several panoramic look-outs of the river and beyond into Tazewell and

Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...

counties as well as a park with a children's playground, picnic area, and baseball diamond.

Teddy Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

purportedly called the street the "World's Most Beautiful Drive" when he visited the Peoria area in October 1910; WMBD, a local radio and TV station, gets its call letters from Roosevelt's expression. The town is also recognized by its distinct, red

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

. One can ascend the tower in an elevator and survey a sizable portion of Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties. The tower forms the nucleus of Peoria Heights Tower Park. Tower Park is a centerpiece of the community which underwent sweeping and controversial renovations in 2002, costing the Village nearly $800,000.00. The nearby downtown business area includes upscale restaurants and shops. In addition to this water tower there is another modern tower on Toledo Avenue colored white with the Peoria Heights logo. Formerly painted a distinctive Red, White, and Blue (the school district colors). On and below the bluff, there are several parks and recreational areas. Forest Park Nature Center is a nature reserve on the bluff containing several miles of

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

s of varying difficulty and the village's only native

prairie restoration Prairie restoration is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural, commercial, or residential development. For example, the U.S. state of Illinois alone once held over of prairie land an ...

site. The Pimiteoui Trail links up Forest Park Nature Center's visitor center with Grandview Drive. Bielfeldt Park is a more traditional park with sports fields, a paved trail, children's playground, and

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

area. The southern terminus of Grandview also sports a park with swings, slide, and pavilion. The

Duryea Motor Wagon Company The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, established in 1895 in Springfield, Massachusetts, was the first American firm to build gasoline automobiles. History Founded by Charles Duryea and his brother Frank, the company built the Duryea Motor Wagon, a o ...

once had a production facility nearby (the reason for the aforementioned visit by Teddy Roosevelt). The town was also the site of a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

for

Pabst Blue Ribbon Pabst Blue Ribbon, commonly abbreviated PBR, is an American lager beer sold by Pabst Brewing Company, established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844 and currently based in San Antonio. Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, the cu ...

. The closing of the Pabst brewery in 1982 had a severe impact on the local economy and population, from which the community has never completely recovered. The Peoria City

mass transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

company, CityLink, offers a History Trolley, which starts its tour in the Prospect Commercial Sector. The Peoria Heights Public Library is located off Glen and is not far from Grandview Drive or Downtown Peoria Heights.

Government and politics

The Village of Peoria Heights is a home rule municipality governed by a Village Board of Trustees form of government. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

and the village clerk are each elected at large to a four-year term. The Mayor appoints the Village Treasurer. The Mayor is the Chief Executive Officer of the Village and presides over meetings of the Village Board. With the approval of the Village Board, the Mayor appoints non-elected Village officials. The Village Clerk is the recording officer of the Village, and is responsible for attending all meetings of the Village Board and keeping records of the proceedings. Village Board meetings are the first and third Tuesday of each month.Village of Peoria Heights
Village of Peoria Heights. Retrieved on 2011-03-28. The Village Board is the

legislative body A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

for the village, and consists of six trustees elected for a four-year term. Their terms are staggered, so that half are elected every two years. Members may be elected for an indefinite number of terms. The Village Board formulates policy and enacts local laws, usually in the form of resolutions and ordinances. The Village Board is directly responsible to the citizens of Peoria Heights. Peoria Heights has a history of non-national

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

. The "Village Party" and the "People's Party" were once prominent in local elections. Today the "Village Party" is defunct and the "People's Party" has lost in the last four elections to Independent candidates.

Schools

* Peoria Heights Community Unit School District 325 *

Peoria Heights High School Peoria Heights High School, or PHHS, is a public four-year high school located at 508 East Glen Avenue in Peoria Heights, Illinois, a village in Peoria County, in the Midwestern United States. PHHS is part of Peoria Heights Community Unit School ...

History

Emergency Services

Peoria Heights has stand alone Fire and Police Services. The fire dept. is a volunteer on call service. As of Dec. 2014, EMS services are provided by Advanced Medical Transport

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 6,635 people, 3,122 households, and 1,657 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 3,331 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 92.89%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 3.45%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.32% Native American, 1.07%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.06% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.22% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.90% of the population. There were 3,122 households, out of which 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.82. In the village, the population was spread out, with 20.3% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males. The median income for a household in the village was $32,161, and the median income for a family was $42,545. Males had a median income of $33,408 versus $22,000 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $20,999. About 6.7% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Village website
{{authority control Villages in Peoria County, Illinois Villages in Woodford County, Illinois Villages in Tazewell County, Illinois Villages in Illinois Ronald Reagan Trail Peoria metropolitan area, Illinois