[7] Originally[vague] known as Fort Clark, it received its current name when the County of Peoria was organized in 1825.

[11] Until 2018, Peoria was the global and national headquarters for heavy equipment and engine manufacturer Caterpillar Inc., one of the 30 companies composing the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and listed on the Fortune 100; the company relocated its headquarters to Deerfield, Illinois, in 2018, and then Irving, Texas, in 2022.

Held at Lake View Park, its U.S. bicycle racing stop hosted such notable names as Marshall "Major" Taylor, who would later become world champion.

The city has a sizable, established Lebanese population with a long history in local business and government.

Peoria became the first world leader for distilleries thanks to Andrew Eitle (1837), Almiron S. Cole (1844), and Joseph B.

[52][53] Peoria also was one of the major bootlegging areas during Prohibition and home to the famed mobsters, the Shelton brothers.

[55] Also, two men called Toby and Anderson brought the steel plow circa 1843, which gained immediate success.

[59] At the time agricultural implement production declined, which led the earth moving and tractor equipment companies to skyrocket and make Peoria in this field the world leader.

Best Tractor Co. Robert G. LeTourneau's earth moving company began its production of new scrapers and dozers in 1935, which evolved into Komatsu-Dresser, Haulpak Division.

[53] In September 2024, Komatsu Limited announced that it was "enhancing its Peoria operations by constructing a new office building that will provide a collaborative space for engineering, sales, manufacturing, management and other functions."

The world headquarters for Caterpillar Inc. was based in Peoria for over 110 years until the company announced it was moving to Deerfield, Illinois in late-2017.

Peoria was ranked as the sixth midsize healthcare hub in the country by Business Facilities in 2021.

It consisted of nine residential neighborhoods, Bradley University, the medical district, and the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research.

The Peoria NEXT Innovation Center opened in August 2007 and provides both dry and wet labs, as well as conference and office space for emerging start-up companies.

[78] It is located in downtown Peoria along the Illinois River at the site formerly known as the Sears Block or Washington Square.

[87] The Steamboat Classic, held every summer, is the world's largest four-mile (6 km) running race and draws international runners.

[96] The Hotel Pere Marquette finished renovations in 2013[97] with a skyway linking to the Peoria Civic Center.

[citation needed] The Civic Center hosts a variety of events in its arena, convention center, and theatre, including Bradley Braves men's basketball, Peoria Rivermen (SPHL), the IHSA State Chess Championship.

(Rugby Football Club) Robertson Field House Professional Baseball League Grandview Drive, which Theodore Roosevelt purportedly called the "world's most beautiful drive" during a 1910 visit,[108][58] runs through both Peoria and Peoria Heights.

The station activates the SAME tone alarm feature and a 1050 Hz tone activating older radios (except for AMBER Alerts, using the SAME feature only) for hazardous weather and non-weather warnings and emergencies, along with selected weather watches, for the Illinois counties of Fulton, Knox, Marshall, Mason, McLean, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, and Woodford.

In addition, the Children's Hospital of Illinois (a part of OSF Saint Francis, and the area's Level I pediatric trauma center), the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, and the Midwest Affiliate of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are located in the city.

[129] In addition, U.S. Route 150 serves as the main arterial for the northern portion of the Peoria area, becoming War Memorial Drive before heading west towards Kickapoo.

One Class II/Regional, Iowa Interstate, serves the city, coming out of Bureau Junction, Illinois.

Peoria is currently the second largest city in Illinois without passenger rail service; the closest passenger stations are Galesburg (served by Amtrak's Chicago–Los Angeles Southwest Chief) and Bloomington (served by Amtrak's Chicago-St. Louis Lincoln Service).

The study, conducted by IDOT at the request of a Passenger Rail Committee established in August 2021, estimated that startup costs for the proposed service would be $2.54 billion.

The service would be operated by Amtrak and would have intermediate stops at LaSalle-Peru, Utica, Ottawa, Morris, and Joliet.

Committee members, who met with federal transportation officials and Amtrak's CEO, were hopeful about securing funding.

The airport is served by United Express, American Eagle, Allegiant Air, and numerous cargo carriers.

[136] The theme of Peoria as the archetypal example of middle American culture runs throughout American culture, appearing in movies and books, on television and radio, and in countless advertisements as either a filler place name or the representative of mainstream taste, hence the phrase "Will it play in Peoria?

Published posthumously in 2011, David Foster Wallace's unfinished novel The Pale King features vignettes based in Peoria.