[2] Circa 1875, John Hoffman started a German weekly called the Pekin Freie Press.

[2][4] During World War I, this newspaper was changed to English language and renamed it Free Press; it was published until 1934.

[6][8] In the early 1920s, the Daily Times was owned by Ku Klux Klan Grand Titan Oscar Walter "O.W."

Friedrich, the owner of the Capitol Theater, and his business partners and fellow klansmen Silas Strickfadden and E.A.

[4][11] According to a Minnesota publication, it was the first daily newspaper to be purchased by any Klan in the country, and the Pekin Klavern was one of the most active in the Midwest, inducting 500 participants on August 15, 1923.

[13] In September 2007, the offset printer produced its last run and printing operations moved to the GateHouse press in the Peoria Journal Star building.

In August 2012, the newspaper's operations moved to a building on Court Street, which had previously housed Rick’s TV & Appliances.