Peoria, Illinois
| Peoria, Illinois | |
| City | |
 Peoria City Hall
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| Nickname: "The River City", "Whiskeytown" | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Peoria |
| Elevation | 509 ft (155.1 m) |
| Coordinates | 40°43′15″N 89°36′34″W / 40.72083°N 89.60944°WCoordinates: 40°43′15″N 89°36′34″W / 40.72083°N 89.60944°W |
| Area | 50.23 sq mi (130.1 km2) |
| - land | 48.01 sq mi (124 km2) |
| - water | 2.22 sq mi (6 km2) |
| Population | 115,828 (2014) |
| - metro | 373,590 |
| Density | 2,543.4/sq mi (982.0/km2) |
| Settled | 1680 |
| - Incorporated, Town | 1835 |
| - Incorporated, City | 1845 |
| Government | Council-Manager |
| - location | Peoria City Hall |
| Mayor | Jim Ardis |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes |
29 total ZIP codes:
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| Area code | 309 |
  Location of Peoria in Illinois
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Website: www |
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Peoria /piːˈɔːriə/ is a city in and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. Established in 1691 by the French explorer Henri de Tonti, Peoria is the oldest European settlement in Illinois, and is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois (and the third largest outside of the Chicago metropolitan area), with a population of 115,007. The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 373,590 in 2011. Peoria had a population of 118,943 in 2010, when far northern Peoria was also included. Peoria is the headquarters for Caterpillar Inc., one of the 30 companies composing the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Peoria is one of the oldest settlements in Illinois, as explorers first ventured up the Illinois River from the Mississippi. The lands that eventually would become Peoria were first settled in 1680, when French explorers René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti constructed Fort Crevecoeur. This fort would later burn to the ground, and in 1813 Fort Clark, Illinois was built. When the County of Peoria was organized in 1825, Fort Clark was officially named Peoria.
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