Peoria (population 115,00) is situated on the Illinois River in the state of Illinois. It serves as the county seat of Peoria County. The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area (population around 372,400) is the third-most populated metro area within Illinois State outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area.
"Peoria" was the name of the Peoria people, a key tribe in the Illinois Indian confederacy. The original village was referred to as Fort Clark, but was later renamed during 1825. It was more than a decade later that Peoria was incorporated as a town. A decade afterward, it became a city. The slavery problem during the Civil War left its mark on Peoria's past. During 1854, Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln both spoke about the problem to the citizens of the city on the steps of the courthouse. During the initial part of the 20th century, Peoria was famous for Vaudeville entertainment and liquor production.
The Peoria Riverfront Museum is located in the downtown of the city of Peoria. It features interactive displays, exhibits and a planetarium. The city is also home to the Wheels o' Time Museum and the Lakeview Museum of the Arts and Sciences. The Peoria Civic Center is an expansive facility hosting entertainment activities and conventions. Bradley Park was built in 1910 and features gardens along with a Japanese Bridge.
The city of Peoria has a strong manufacturing base with over 200 businesses manufacturing more than 1,000 various products. Businesses focus on the production of internal combustion engines and construction machinery for the North American market. Peoria's largest employer is the famous Caterpillar Inc., a manufacturer of engines and heavy machines. Peoria even has many distilleries and breweries and a large grain and livestock exporting center. The city has burgeoning technology and biotech industries. The Peoria Next consists of several organizations in the fields of life sciences and technology, and material and engineering sciences.
The city of Peoria is the home of various national consumer research companies. Peoria is seen as representing "mainstream America", especially Midwestern America, that makes it perfect for opinion testing and national product marketing.