Pekin () is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Tazewell County 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 sove ...

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

. Located on the Illinois River, Pekin is the largest city of Tazewell County and the second most populous municipality of the

Peoria metropolitan area The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of six counties in Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Peoria. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 402,391. The ...

, after Peoria itself. As of the 2010 census, its population is 34,094.United States Census
Retrieved 18 June 2012 A small portion of the city limits extend into

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 ...

. It is the most populous municipality in the United States with the name Pekin. It is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area. Pekin's Mineral Springs Park is near Pekin Hospital and the Miller Senior Center. The city is also home to a high-rise residential facility of the

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

; the 1,538 megawatt, coal-fired Powerton Power Station (currently owned and operated by

NRG Energy NRG Energy, Inc. is an American energy company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. It was formerly the wholesale arm of Northern States Power Company (NSP), which became Xcel Energy, but became independent in 2000. NRG Energy is involved in ener ...

), the home of the Pekin Federal Correctional Institution; and the headquarters of a regional insurance company, Pekin Insurance.

Chronological history

Native American inhabitants

In Illinois as elsewhere,

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

lived along rivers for transportation, water, and fishing. At the time of European exploration, the several historical tribes in the area were of the

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...

-language family, within the larger Algonquian-speaking tribes. In January 1680, Robert de LaSalle and 33 fellow explorers landed their canoes on the eastern bank of the Illinois River. They built a winter refuge in what is now the southeast quarter of section 1 of Pekin Township (25N 5W). They also encountered historical

Kickapoo people The Kickapoo people ( Kickapoo: ''Kiikaapoa'' or ''Kiikaapoi''; es, Kikapú) are an Algonquian-speaking Native American and Indigenous Mexican tribe, originating in the region south of the Great Lakes. Today, three federally recognized Kick ...

s to the east as far as the

Wabash River The Wabash River (French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows from ...

near the present Illinois-Indiana border. Pekin and the Pekin area has a rich Native American heritage. South of Pekin on the Mackinaw River was the site of Chief Lebourse Sulky's Village in 1812. This was how it looked to an American of the time: Sulky oversaw a village with a mixed population of the

-speaking Pottawatomi, Kickapoo and Ojibwa people. He fought alongside Tecumseh in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, as did most of the chiefs of the Illinois Valley area. Later, this area was the site of Chief

Shabbona Shabbona (or Sha-bon-na), also known as Shabonee Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

of 1832. Like Sulky, Shabbona had joined with Tecumseh during the War of 1812 and was with him when he fell at the Battle of Tippecanoe. After the war, Shabbona made peace with the U.S. government and protected white settlers in the Pekin area during the Black Hawk War. (''History of Tazewell County'' (1879), Charles C. Chapman, pp. 195–196, 254–265) Following the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

, the State of Illinois renegotiated treaties with the Native American tribes in the state to extinguish their claims and remove all Indians from the state. The Pottawatomi village was relocated about a mile north to Worley Lake for a short time, until the inhabitants were removed to a reservation near

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

. Shabbona later moved north to Seneca near the Illinois River, where he died in 1859 on land that the citizens of Ottawa had given him.

Origins of Pekin

Farmer Jonathan Tharp, who came from Ohio, was the first non-Indian resident, building a log cabin in 1824 on a ridge above the Illinois River at a site near the present foot of Broadway Drive. Franklin School was later erected near this site. Other settlers soon joined him, including his father Jacob Tharp who arrived from Ohio in 1825. They lived near Chief Shabbona's large Indian village of about 100

wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup' ...

s, populated primarily by Pottawatomi, which was situated along Gravel Ridge, on the eastern shore of what is today Pekin Lake in northwest Pekin. Tharp's log cabin was south of Shabbona's village. After a county surveyor laid out a "town site" in 1829, an auction of the town plat and site was held in Springfield, Illinois. The village site was awarded to Major Isaac Perkins, Gideon Hawley, William Haines and Major Nathan Cromwell. Mrs. Ann Eliza Cromwell selected the name of the city,

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

or "Pékin", the French spelling. Nathan Cromwell named many of the city streets after the wives and daughters of early Pekin settlers. It was long held, as first expressed in W.H. Bates' history of Pekin included in the 1870 Pekin City Directory, that Cromwell was assisted by his wife Ann Eliza in the naming of the streets. It has been stated that Mrs. Cromwell named the town "Pekin" because she thought

was on the exact opposite side of the world from the town she founded. (In the late 1700s and early 1800s, China and the United States were often thought to be on the exact opposite sides of the world and towns were often named after locations in China. Another example is Canton, Ohio, named in 1805.) "Peking" was sometimes romanized as "Pekin", as in several other US towns founded during this period, for example Pekin, Ohio.

18th–19th centuries

Pekin is known as the site where

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and other ambitious politicians struck a deal in the 1840s. Lincoln was among several local Whig politicians who wanted to serve in the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

. To keep from splitting the Whig vote, the competitors agreed to support each other for one term each in Congress. The pact is called the Pekin Agreement in Lincoln biographies. Lincoln ran and was elected to the

30th United States Congress The 30th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1847 ...

in 1846, and retired at the end of the term. This single term in Congress was Lincoln's only experience in Washington before he was elected president. Although Illinois was a "free" state, pro-slavery sentiment was predominant throughout southern and central Illinois, which had been largely settled by Southerners, some of whom were slaveholders before the state was admitted to the union. Cities with pro-slavery sentiment included Peoria and Pekin (see Charles L. Dancey's "Pekin, KKK, blacks: It goes back to Copperheads, Union League," ''Peoria Journal Star,'' 13 April 1989). According to the 1949 Pekin "Centenary," p. 15,

"Pekin was a pro-slave city for years. Some of the original settlers had been slave-owners themselves, and the overwhelming sentiment in Pekin was Democratic.
Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...
, not Abraham Lincoln, was the local hero, although Lincoln was well-liked, and had some German following."

Chiefly due to an influx of German immigrants after the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

sentiment began to flourish in Pekin. Among Pekin's abolitionist leaders was Dr. Daniel Cheever, whose home at the corner of Capitol and Court streets was a depot on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. Other Pekin abolitionists were the brothers Samuel and Hugh Woodrow. (Catherine Street in Pekin is named for Samuel's wife, and Amanda Street is named for Hugh's wife.) During the Civil War, the inhabitants of Pekin were divided between the pro-slavery element, who favored the Confederacy, and the abolitionist and pro-Union element. Early in the war, the

secessionist Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

Knights of the Golden Circle The Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC) was a secret society founded in 1854 by American George W. L. Bickley, the objective of which was to create a new country, known as the Golden Circle ( es, Círculo Dorado), where slavery would be legal. T ...

" openly supported secession and slavery in Pekin. The 1949 ''Pekin Centenary,'' p. 15, says the Knights were "aggressive and unprincipled," and "those who believed in the Union spoke often in whispers in Pekin streets and were wary and often afraid." As a response to the Knights' influence, Dr. Cheever and 10 other men gathered at 331 Court Street in Pekin on 25 June 1862 to establish the first council of the Union League of America, to promote patriotism and loyalty to the Union in the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Its members hoped to counter Northern disillusionment with President Lincoln's military policies after early Union defeats in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Although closely allied with the Republican Party, the League sought to enroll all Union supporters, regardless of party. The anti-slavery Germans of Pekin took an active role in the Union League in their city. ''Find more information on the Union League Here:''

Union League Club of Chicago The Union League Club of Chicago is a prominent civic and social club in Chicago that was founded in 1879. Its second and current clubhouse is located at 65 W Jackson Boulevard on the corner of Federal Street, in the Loop neighborhood of Chi ...

20th century to present

In an early 20th-century revival, the Ku Klux Klan recruited new members as a fraternal organization, opposing new immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, and becoming influential in rapidly industrializing urban areas in the Midwest and West, as well as in the South. It had numerous members in Pekin and other Illinois cities. It was during this period that leading Klansmen took over ownership of the city newspaper, the ''Pekin Daily Times''; they used it as an organ of Klan viewpoints. They sold off the paper within a few years. The city had an identity and reputation as a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, are all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminator ...

; it was known to be hostile to black residents and few settled there. On the other hand, some Pekin church

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

s participated in the civil rights marches of the 1960s, and U.S. Senator

Everett Dirksen Everett McKinley Dirksen (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was an American politician. A Republican, he represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. As Senate Minority Leader from 1959 u ...

from Pekin was integral to achieving passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "In 2000, 707 of the 863 blacks are male, mostly 18–44. he census recorded5 households with a total pop. of 16 blacks."James W. Loewen, "Possible Sundown towns in Illinois: Pekin"
''Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism'' website, based on his 2005 book The federal prison system has an institution in Pekin.

Pekin Marigold Festival

The Marigold

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

was started in 1973 to honor one of Pekin's "favorite sons", Senator

. While in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

, Dirksen tried to have the marigold named as the national floral emblem. In support of Dirksen, the community began growing marigolds. While unsuccessful in the national flower contest, Dirksen's hometown of Pekin became known as the "Marigold Capital of the World". The Marigold Festival is an annual celebration held the first weekend after Labor Day in September. Its activities include the annual Marigold Parade, the crowning of Miss Marigold, live music, and an arts and crafts fair that attracts exhibitors from five surrounding states. The Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce annually appoints a festival committee, yet most of the work is done by more than 1,000 volunteers. They present the events and concessions to the public Many organizations use the financial proceeds from their events and concessions to support their charitable not-for-profit organization. In the early years of the festival, volunteers and residents planted more than two million marigolds throughout the city, creating displays to be judged by the garden club. Today the goal of the festival is to encourage community pride, displayed through marigold plantings and additional events such as a Medallion Hunt, 5 kilometer run/walk, Carnival, Art in the Park, Friday Night Family Fest, and live music. These events bring the people of Pekin together and highlight area businesses. Food concessions at the Marigold Festival are run by

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

s. Most of the Festive Food booths are located in Mineral Springs Park. Many groups use this as a major fundraising event. They include local churches and Boy Scout Troops,

Kiwanis Club Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

of Pekin, Pekin Community High School

JROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools acr ...

Boosters, Pekin Community High School show choir "Noteables", local firefighters, Pekin

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartere ...

the Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

, and United Way of Pekin. Over the years the Marigold Festival has grown to attract more than 100,000 people annually. Other festivals in the local area include the

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Cherry Festival,

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...

Pumpkin Festival, Tremont Turkey Festival, and

East Peoria East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

Festival of Lights.

Government and infrastructure

Pekin is the

Tazewell County, Illinois Tazewell County () is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 135,394. Its county seat and largest city is Pekin. It is pronounced with a short "a", to rhyme with "razz" rather than "raze." ...

. Originally under an aldermanic form of government, the city switched to the commission form in 1911 (see ''Pekin Sesquicentennial 1824–1974, A History'', p. 162), but since 1995 has had a city manager form of government. A mayor and six council members are elected to staggered 4-year terms in April of odd-numbered years. Candidates may start circulating nomination papers (available from the County Clerk's office) in September, but must file them in mid-December. The Pekin

Park District A park district is a form of local special-purpose district for providing public parks and recreation in or near its geographic boundaries. Some park districts also own or maintain related cultural facilities such as monuments, zoos, sports venu ...

was established in 1902 and still operates, controlled by a 7-member Board of Commissioners elected by the public at the same elections the city council members are. The city has an

Illinois Secretary of State The Secretary of State of Illinois is one of the six elected executive state offices of the government of Illinois, and one of the 47 secretaries of states in the United States. The Illinois Secretary of State keeps the state records, laws, libr ...

Drivers Services Facility; the next nearest is in Peoria. The

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

operates the

Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin The Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin (FCI Pekin) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Illinois. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The fac ...

. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates the Pekin Post Office. The

Pekin Municipal Airport Pekin Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles (4.6 mi, 7.4 km) south of the central business district of Pekin, a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. It is included in the FAA's National Pl ...

is a city-owned public-use facility located four nautical miles (4.6 mi, 7.4 km) south of Pekin's central business district.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Pekin Community High School District 303 Pekin Community High School District 303 is a public school district in Pekin, Illinois, that operates one high school, Pekin Community High School (PCHS). the school has 1,780 students. The campus includes its principal campus buildings total ...

includes Pekin and some nearby areas. The district's high school is Pekin Community High School (PCHS). In the 1960s the campus was split into two buildings, with the freshman and sophomores at one campus (West Campus) and the juniors and seniors at another (East Campus). East Campus was expanded in 1997–1998, after which date West Campus closed and all four classes were reunited at the newer campus. After the local community lost in an attempt to save the school building, demolition on the west campus began in 2012 and was finished in 2014. A Dollar General now stands where the historic West Campus once stood.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of , of which (or 96.17%) is land and (or 3.83%) is water. Pekin lies on the Illinois River, and its John T. McNaughton Bridge connects the city to a small area of land the city has annexed in

. Nearby towns include North Pekin, Marquette Heights, Creve Coeur, Groveland, Tremont,

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

, Peoria, Bartonville,

Mapleton Mapleton may refer to: Places Australia * Mapleton, Queensland, a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region Canada * Mapleton, New Brunswick, a rural community in Kings County * Mapleton, Moncton, New Brunswick, a neighborhood * Maple ...

, Manito, Delavan, Dillon, Green Valley, Hopedale, and South Pekin.

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 in ...

of 2010, there were 34,094 people, 13,820 households, and 8,721 families residing in the city. According to estimates on the census of 2020, the population is currently 32,255 people. The population density was . There were 14,714 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 96%

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 o ...

, 2.6%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American or

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.9% Asian, 0.9% 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 1.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 ...

people of any race were 2.4% of the population. There were 13,380 households, out of which 27% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.88. In the city the population was spread out, with 21.9% under the age of 18 and 16% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $41,913, and the median income for a family was $57,145. Males had a median income of $43,485 versus $30,881 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 city was $24,177. About 10.1% of families and 12.3% of the population were living 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 19.4% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Media

The city is served by a

daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...

, the ''

Pekin Daily Times The ''Pekin Daily Times'' is an American daily newspaper published in Pekin, Illinois. It is owned by Gannett. The ''Daily Times'' was founded as a daily in January 1881. A related weekly newspaper A weekly newspaper is a general-news or ...

''.

Mayors of the City of Pekin

Notable people

* Ubbo J. Albertsen (1845–1926), Illinois state legislator and businessman * Robert H. Allison (1893–1959), Illinois state legislator and lawyer * Scott Altman (1959–), astronaut *

Sol Bloom Sol Bloom (March 9, 1870March 7, 1949) was an American song-writer and politician from New York City who began his career as an entertainment impresario and sheet music publisher in Chicago. He served fourteen terms in the United States House of ...

(1870–1949), US Congressman (D-NY), music publisher, and entertainment impresario *

Mark Staff Brandl Mark Staff Brandl (born 1955) is an American-born artist, art historian and philosopher of art now living primarily in Switzerland. History Born in Peoria, Illinois and raised in Pekin, Illinois, Brandl is the son of Earl and Ruth Brandl, ...

(1955–), artist and art historian *

Erik Brann Erik Keith Brann (born Rick Davis; August 11, 1950 – July 25, 2003), also known as Erik Braunn, was an American guitarist with the 1960s acid rock band Iron Butterfly. He was featured on the band's greatest hit, the 17-minute ''In-A-Gadda-Da- ...

(1950–2003), guitarist with

Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal musi ...

* Hank Bruder (1907–1970), player for the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers * Liz Brunner (1959–), Miss Illinois 1979 (competed as Elizabeth Russell), journalist-newscaster, CEO Brunner Communications * Donna Jean Christianson (1931–2015), Minnesota state legislator and farmer *

Wyllis Cooper Wyllis Oswald Cooper (January 26, 1899 – June 22, 1955) was an American writer and producer. He is best remembered for creating and writing the old time radio programs '' Lights Out'' (1934–1947) and '' Quiet, Please'' (1947–194 ...

(1899–1955), writer for radio *

Susan Dey Susan Hallock Dey (born December 10, 1952) is a retired American actress, known for her television roles as Laurie Partridge on the sitcom ''The Partridge Family'' from 1970 to 1974, and as Grace Van Owen on the drama series '' L.A. Law'' from ...

(1952–), actress known for ''

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from S ...

'', ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'' *

Everett McKinley Dirksen Everett McKinley Dirksen (January 4, 1896 – September 7, 1969) was an American politician. A Republican, he represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. As Senate Minority Leader from 1959 unt ...

(1896–1969), congressman and senator, Senate Minority Leader * Ethyl Eichelberger (1945–1990), noted figure in experimental theater * Elizabeth Hawley Everett (1857–1940), clubwoman, suffragist, author, magazine founder/editor, school principal, superindent of schools * Egbert B. Groen (1915–2012), Illinois state senator and lawyer'Illinois Blue Book 1961–1972,' Biographical Sketch of Egbert B. Groen, pg. 167 *

Head East Head East is an American rock band, originally from East Central Illinois. The band was formed by vocalist John Schlitt, guitarist Danny Piper, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Larry Boyd, and drummer Steve Huston. They met and formed the ba ...

, 1970s rock band, most notable song "Never Been Any Reason" * William Guatney (1922–1996), criminal and accused

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

* Th. Emil Homerin (1955–2020), scholar of religion and mysticism * The Jets, 1970s rock band (not the 1980s pop band) * John Johnson (1869–1941), 19th century Major League Baseball player *

Larry Kenney Larry Kenney (born August 5, 1947) is an American voice actor and radio personality. Early life Larry Kenney was born August 5, 1947 in Pekin, Illinois, the son of George and Joyce Kenney. He has a brother, Steven, and a sister, Jody. He graduat ...

(1947–), voice actor and radio host *

Seth Kinman Seth Kinman (September 29, 1815 – February 24, 1888) was an early settler of Humboldt County, California, a hunter based in Fort Humboldt, a famous chair maker, and a nationally recognized entertainer. He stood over tall and was known for h ...

(1815–1888), mountain man and Presidential chair maker * Danny Lloyd (1975-), actor, known for '' The Shining'', '' Doctor Sleep'' * Martin B. Lohmann (1881–1980), Illinois politician and businessman *

Elaine McCusker Elaine A. McCusker is an American government official who served as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), one of the offices of United States Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, from 2017 to 2020. McCusker was nominated by P ...

, U.S. government official * John T. McNaughton (1921–1967), Harvard Law School professor and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

planner * Eric Monti (1917–2009), PGA Tour golfer *

D. A. Points Darren Andrew "D.A." Points (born December 1, 1976) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. Early years and amateur career Born and raised in Pekin, Illinois, Points attended Pekin High School, and the University ...

(1976–), PGA Tour golfer * George Saal (1918–1996), Illinois politician and businessman * Jerald D. Slack (1936–), U.S. Air National Guard Major General, Adjutant General of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

* Sally Smith (1945–), Alaska state legislator and Mayor of Juneau, Alaska * Sandra Steingraber (1959–), biologist, science writer, ecologist * Jack Stephens (1933–2011), guard and forward with the

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

* James Von Boeckman (1923–2001), Illinois state representative

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1829 establishments in Illinois Cities in Illinois Cities in Peoria County, Illinois Cities in Tazewell County, Illinois County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1829 Sundown towns in Illinois