On June 14, 1855, a petition to plat the Town of Fondulac was filed with Tenth Judicial Circuit Court by Seth Abbott.

By 1857, the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad was completed as far east as Chenoa, and the town received and sent farm products by rail.

In February 1864, an additional plat of land was laid out for a town named "Bluetown" by William C. Cleveland, who was the Tazewell County Surveyor.

"[7] On July 1, 1884, citizens of both Fondulac and Bluetown held a referendum at the public school to propose both towns be incorporated as one.

There is no official origin behind the new name, but there is a connection with the Hilton Coal & Iron Mining Co. at the eastern end of town.

Nicholas Slagle was named the first president, and he appointed Thomas J. Floyd and Joseph Moseman as the village clerk and treasurer, respectively.

[18] Subsequently, Carter decided to close the original plant and had all brick manufacturing occur at the Cole Hollow Road location.

When World War I broke out, with the problem of trench warfare and the difficulty of transporting supplies to the front, the pulling power of crawling-type tractors drew the attention of the military.

In British trials, the 75 horsepower (56 kW) Holt tractor was found to be better suited than its competitors to haul heavy loads over uneven ground.

[29] Holt Caterpillar tractors were also the inspiration for the development of the British tank, which profoundly altered ground warfare tactics.

[33] From 1991 to 1999, Par-A-Dice cruised the river daily, until Illinois removed the requirement for riverboat casinos to leave their docks.

This was reversed in June 2010 with the new U.S. Coast Guard annual requirement, and the riverboat set off along the river for the first time in 11 years.

Located just across the river from downtown Peoria, it is a mixed-use project with a wide variety of restaurants, shopping malls, and accommodations.

The land was bought by the city for redevelopment in 2000, creating an opportunity to transform the industrial downtown into a commercial hub.

East Peorians previously would have to travel to Peoria for dining and shopping; with the creation of the Levee District, residents could do so locally.

In concert with the renovation of remaining Caterpillar buildings, the development of the downtown Peoria Riverfront Museum and Caterpillar Visitor's Center, and the renovation of Interstate 74 and of the area's bridges, East Peoria's downtown and urban area have developed substantially.

The collection includes Playaway devices, magazines, board games, puzzles, Roku players, and Wi-Fi hotspots.

While the majority of the collection was safely transported upstairs intact, the walls, carpet, and furnishings were damaged, along with the computers.

[41] In April 2009, residents of East Peoria approved a referendum to build a new library in the present-day Levee District.

[42][43] The library shares an atrium called the Civic Complex with East Peoria City Hall, which was built on other side in 2015.

Costing $500,000 USD to construct, it was paid for entirely through private donations to the East Peoria Community Foundation.

A portion of the final phase is paid for through an Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) grant.

[53] East Peoria is serviced by a Head Start, three school districts, and a local community college.

ICC serves all or parts of ten central Illinois counties: Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Bureau, Logan, Marshall, Livingston, McLean, Stark, and Mason.

[59] In September 1965, a referendum to authorize a taxy levy in order to establish a community college was circulated around town.

[60] In the autumn of 1967 the college's first semester started, with Dr. Kenneth L. Edwards as president, 56 full-time faculty employed, and 2,486 students enrolled.

[61] In the 1970s, student enrollment increased to 9,000 and the college expanded its services to include an academic and business program oriented campus in downtown Peoria.

WEEK-TV, channel 25, the local NBC affiliate, has long maintained studios and transmitter facilities on Springfield Road in East Peoria.

In recent years, other stations have moved in with WEEK-TV as a result of operations mergers through local marketing agreements, including MyNetworkTV affiliate WTVK (channel 59), and ABC affiliate WHOI (channel 19), which moved to the Springfield Road studios in 2009 from its former location in nearby Creve Coeur.

[73][74] The nearest passenger stations are both owned by Amtrak- Southwest Chief in Galesburg and Lincoln Service in Bloomington.