Pimitéoui and Peoria

 

Where the Illinois River widens into two connected lakes now known as Peoria Lake, the place first known to the Illinois and French as Pimitéoui has deep roots in the Indigenous and French Colonial communities of the Illinois Country. During the height of the Illinois Colony, Peoria was home to the Illinois tribe of the same name, was an important fur trading locale, and was also considered the gateway to Canada by the settlements in southern Illinois.