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History · Pekin Township

Pekin Township dates to 1829, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

5 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1850.

1829founded
5on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pekin Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pekin Township began

When was Pekin Township founded?

1829

Pekin Township dates its founding to 1829 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 1,678 in 18502020 census: 27,597197 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1832.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pekin Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers.On the map since 19055 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1996. Watch Pekin Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1829: 197 years of Pekin Township.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · By decade

Pekin Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s14 items
Pekin High School (south view)1905Pekin High School (south view)Tazewell Club1905Tazewell ClubTazewell County Jail1905Tazewell County JailSt. Joseph's Church1905St. Joseph's ChurchHigh School Building1905High School BuildingCourt Street, (looking west)1905Court Street, (looking west)Pavilion and Lake, Mineral Spring Park1905Pavilion and Lake, Mineral Spring ParkSoldiers Monument, Dedicated May 30, 1905, Lakeside Cemetery1905Soldiers Monument, Dedicated May 30, 1905, Lakeside C…Tazewell County Court House, Completed and Occupied July, 18501905Tazewell County Court House, Completed and Occupied J…Government Building and Post Office1905Government Building and Post OfficeIllinois River at Pekin, Illinois, showing highest record stage of water, 16.6 feet above low water mark, March 28, 190…1905Illinois River at Pekin, Illinois, showing highest re…Terminal Depot1905Terminal DepotPekin Public Schools1906Pekin Public SchoolsCompany A, Fifth Regiment, I.N.G1906Company A, Fifth Regiment, I.N.G
1910s1 item
Illinois River Lift Bridgec. 1913Illinois River Lift Bridge
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today13 recent
Union League of America Pekin 20231112 00132023Union League of America Pekin 20231112 0013Pekin riverfront 20231019 01402023Pekin riverfront 20231019 0140Pekin riverfront 20231019 01372023Pekin riverfront 20231019 0137Pekin riverfront 20231019 01292023Pekin riverfront 20231019 0129Pekin bridge pier 20231018 07472023Pekin bridge pier 20231018 0747Pekin boat club 20231019 01282023Pekin boat club 20231019 0128Pekin airport 20231019 05322023Pekin airport 20231019 0532Pekin Bridge 20231018 07312023Pekin Bridge 20231018 0731Everett Dirksen statue Mineral Springs Park Pekin 20231112 01292023Everett Dirksen statue Mineral Springs Park Pekin 202…Everett Dirksen statue Mineral Springs Park Pekin 20231112 01082023Everett Dirksen statue Mineral Springs Park Pekin 202…Peoria, Illinois2012Peoria, IllinoisGreetings from Pekin, Illinois - Large Letter Postcard2012Greetings from Pekin, Illinois - Large Letter PostcardDocumentPrecious Child little girl with flower2005Precious Child little girl with flower
On the map

Pekin Township on the map, 1905 to 1996

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pekin Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Pekin Township on the 1905 USGS mapPekin Township on the 1927 USGS mapPekin Township on the 1960 USGS mapPekin Township on the 1979 USGS mapPekin Township on the 1996 USGS map1905Peoria sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pekin Township.

Timeline

Pekin Township, 1829 to 1913

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1829
    FoundingPekin Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905In the archivePekin High School (south view)
  5. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1913In the archiveIllinois River Lift Bridge
The story

How Pekin Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pekin Township.

Read it all →

Farmer Jonathan Tharp, who came from Ohio, was the first non-native American resident of what would become Pekin, building a log cabin in 1824 on a ridge above the Illinois River at a site near the present foot of Broadway Drive. Franklin School was later erected near this site. Other settlers soon joined him, including his father Jacob Tharp who arrived from Ohio in 1825. They lived near Chief Shabbona's large Indian village of about 100 wigwams, populated primarily by Potawatomi, which was situated along Gravel Ridge, on the eastern shore of what is today Pekin Lake in northwest Pekin.

ChaptersOrigins19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Pekin High School (south view)
Retake this viewPekin High School (south view), 1905

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pekin Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Pekin Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Pekin Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,0001850190019502000Peak: 34,094

Between 1,678 and 34,094 people in every census since 1850.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pekin Township’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Pekin Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPekin High School (south view): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Hollis TownshipIts storyCCreve CoeurIts storyCGroveland TownshipIts storyB−Cincinnati TownshipIts storyB−Pekin5 historic placesA−Limestone Township3 historic placesA−Peoria City Township26 historic placesA+Peoria26 historic placesA+Fondulac TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Pekin Township’s history

What year was Pekin Township founded?

In 1829, according to Wikidata. Pekin Township’s post office opened in 1832, and the census of 1850 counted 1,678 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (14), the Library of Congress (14), Wikidata (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.