Pekin is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois. The population was 33,857 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Tazewell County.⁶ Pekin is an important, large suburb of Peoria and is a key part of the Peoria-Pekin MSA area. As of 2006, it has a population of approximately 35,000 people.

History

In January 1680, Sieur de La Salle (Robert de LaSalle) and 33 fellow explorers landed their canoes on the eastern bank of the Illinois River. They built a winter refuge in the southeast quarter of section one of Pekin Township.

Pekin, historically, has a rich American Indian heritage. It was the site of Lebourse Sulky's Village in 1812. Sulky oversaw a mixed village of the Potawatomi, Kickapoo and Ojibwa people. He fought with Tecumseh in the War of 1812, as did most of the other chiefs of the Illinois Valley area. Later, this area was the site of Chief Shabbona's village during the Black Hawk War.

Farmer Jonathan Tharp was the first non-Indian resident, building a log cabin in 1824. For some time after the arrival of white settlers, there continued to be a quite large Indian Village, populated primarily by Potawatomi, along the ridge of what is today Pekin Lake. After a county surveyor laid out a "Town Site," an auction of this 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, the last of whose wife named the City of Pekin after Beijing, China, which was at that time spelled "Peking" or "Pekin," spellings still common in German and French. A short history of the village that became the city of Pekin is on-line at http://www.villageprofile.com/illinois/pekin/03his/index.html

A group of 11 men gathered on June 25, 1862, in Pekin to establish the first council of the Union League of America, to promote patriotism and loyalty to the Union. Its members hoped to counter Northern disillusionment with President Lincoln's military policies after early Union defeats in the Civil War. Although closely allied with the Republican Party, the League sought to enroll all Union supporters, regardless of party. By December, 1863, it claimed 140,000 members in Illinois and almost one million nationwide. The Union League movement focused on providing medical supplies, training nurses, and advocating equality for slaves. As the War gradually turned in favor of the North, the Union Leagues shifted to political endorsements, favoring radical Republicans who advocated full equality and voting rights for African-Americans. The Union League played a prominent role in Lincoln’s closely contested re-election in 1864. By the end of the Civil War, the Union League of America movement grew to two million members. The clubs still continue today, for example, The Union League Club of Chicago has been credited with establishing many of the city’s major cultural organizations, including: The Art Institute of Chicago, Orchestra Hall, the Auditorium Theater and the Field Museum.

Pekin Community High School teams were officially known as the Pekin Chinks until 1980 when the mascot was changed to the Pekin Dragons (an earlier attempt was made by a visit of the NAACP to change the name from Chinks during the 1974-1975 school year, this was voted down by the student council; the event received national attention).

Pekin has a large park with a lagoon, Mineral Springs Park, which is located near Pekin Hospital and a senior center. Pekin is home to a high-rise residential facility of the United Auto Workers. It is the home of the minimum-security Pekin Federal Correctional Institute.

On September 29th 2007, Pekin Community High School Army JROTC Academic Team went to Fairfax, Virginia to compete in the JROTC Academic Challenge.[1]

Geography

Pekin is located at 40°34′4″N, 89°38′13″W (40.567788, -89.636949).¹

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.6 km² (13.8 mi²). 34.1 km² (13.1 mi²) of it is land and 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (4.36%) 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 Peoria County.

Nearby towns include North Pekin, Marquette Heights, Creve Coeur, Groveland, Tremont, Morton, Washington, Lincoln, East Peoria, Peoria, Bartonville, Mapleton, Manito, Delavan, Dillon, Green Valley, Hopedale, Schaeferville, Midway, and South Pekin.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 33,857 people, 13,380 households, and 8,804 families residing in the city. The population density was 994.1/km² (2,574.8/mi²). There were 14,038 housing units at an average density of 412.2/km² (1,067.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.80% White, 2.55% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population.

There were 13,380 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,972, and the median income for a family was $46,346. Males had a median income of $35,906 versus $21,705 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,616. About 6.8% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

People born or raised in Pekin

• Scott D. Altman, astronaut
• Mark Staff Brandl, artist
• Sol Bloom (1870–1949), entertainment and popular music entrepreneur who billed himself as "Sol Bloom, the Music Man" and served for many years in the United States House of Representatives
• Wyllis Cooper, writer for radio
• Susan Dey, actress
• Everett McKinley Dirksen, congressman and senator
• Ethyl Eichelberger (1945-1990), influential figure in experimental theater
• Brad Elvis, rock 'n' roll drummer
• Th. Emil Homerin, scholar of religion and mysticism
• The Jets, 1970s rock band (different than The Jets from Minneapolis)
• Larry Kenney, actor
• John T. McNaughton, Harvard Law School professor and Vietnam War planner
• D.A. Points, professional golfer
• Ormond Stone (1847-1933), astronomer, mathematician, and educator
• Mike Isenberg, guitarist, songwriter

See also

• Pekin Lettes

External links

Coordinates: 40.567788° N 89.636949° W

Municipalities and communities of Tazewell County, Illinois
County seat: Pekin
Cities	Delavan | East Peoria | Marquette Heights | Pekin | Washington
Villages	Armington | Creve Coeur | Deer Creek | Goodfield | Green Valley | Hopedale | Mackinaw | Minier | Morton | North Pekin | South Pekin | Tremont
Townships	Boynton | Cincinnati | Deer Creek | Delavan | Dillon | Elm Grove | Fondulac | Groveland | Hittle | Hopedale | Little Mackinaw | Mackinaw | Malone | Morton | Pekin | Sand Prairie | Spring Lake | Tremont | Washington
Unincorporated communities	Groveland

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