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91-444: The railway's most important route was between Minneapolis and Peoria, Illinois ; a second major route extended from Minneapolis into eastern South Dakota , and other trackage served areas in north-central Iowa and south-central Minnesota. The M&StL was founded in 1870, and expanded through line construction and acquisition until the early 20th century. Most of the railway's routes saw only relatively light traffic, and consequently

182-505: A $ 55 million renovation and expansion by 2007. The Hotel Pere Marquette finished renovations in 2013 with a skyway linking to the Peoria Civic Center. A new 10-story Courtyard has been built adjacent to this hotel, completing a hotel campus for larger conventions. The Civic Center hosts a variety of events in its arena, convention center, and theatre, including Bradley Braves men's basketball , Peoria Rivermen (SPHL) ,

273-655: A dog park. Peoria has five public golf courses , as well as several private and semi-private golf courses. The Peoria Park District, the first and still largest park district in Illinois, was the 2001 Winner of the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation for Class II Parks. Various cultural institutions are located in Glen Oak Park. The Peoria Zoo , formerly Glen Oak Zoo,

364-462: A grade school, middle school, and high school. In addition, Concordia Lutheran School, Peoria Academy, Christ Lutheran School, Peoria Hebrew Day School , and several smaller private schools exist. Bradley University , Methodist College , OSF St. Francis College of Nursing, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, and the north campus of Illinois Central College are based in

455-698: A museum and visitor center showcasing Caterpillar past, present, and future. It is located in downtown Peoria along the Illinois River at the site formerly known as the Sears Block or Washington Square. The Block broke ground on September 7, 2010 and opened in October 2012. The Peoria PlayHouse Children's Museum opened in June 2015 in the Glen Oak Pavilion. The Heart of Illinois Fair

546-583: A performer on North Washington Street in the early 1960s. In 2021, Rita Ali became Peoria's first female and African American mayor. According to the 2010 census, Peoria has a total area of 50.23 square miles (130.10 km ), of which 48.01 square miles (124.35 km ) (or 95.58%) is land and 2.22 square miles (5.75 km ) (or 4.42%) is water. Peoria has a humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfa ), with cold, snowy winters, and hot, humid summers. Monthly daily mean temperatures range from 22.5 °F (−5.3 °C) to 75.2 °F (24.0 °C). Snowfall

637-442: A railroad man. He was simply a corporate raider with a great deal of capital at his disposal from his business partnerships. With M&StL, his allegiance was not to the road's customers, or employees, or service territory, but only to shareholder value which is why he ultimately ended up winning the shareholders battle against Sprague. Few M&StL shareholders had a direct connection to the company. Most shareholders were people from

728-714: A syndicate called Associated Railways that was to determine how the M&;StL should be broken up. Competing forces with company employees and its receivers on one hand and Associated on the other brought further complexity to M&StL's already precarious position each lobbying their positions before the ICC on the matter. Despite the fight for the railroad to be sold to a larger operation, broken up piecemeal, or shut down entirely, Lucian Sprague took over as receiver in 1935 after Bremner unexpectedly died in November 1934. Sprague streamlined

819-509: A takeover of the company and lobbing charges of malfeasance against the Sprague administration. The battle for the road continued through the remainder of 1953 and in to 1954 with both Sprague and Heineman taking to the press to malign the other. Sprague was ousted in a dramatic shareholders battle orchestrated by Heineman in May 1954. Heineman had no intention of operating the M&StL. He was not

910-518: Is common in the winter, averaging 26.3 inches (67 cm), but this figure varies considerably from year to year. Precipitation, averaging 36 inches (914 mm), peaks in the spring and summer, and is the lowest in winter. Extremes have ranged from −27 °F (−33 °C) in January 1884 to 113 °F (45 °C) in July 1936. According to the 2021 American Community Survey , Peoria's poverty rate

1001-638: Is conducted in Peoria annually. While the Renaissance Park research park project never came to full fruition, many of the original ideas from the original Renaissance Park concept still continue on a smaller level via The Renaissance Park Community Association. Businesses in Peoria with significant presence include: According to the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council's data, the top employers in

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1092-579: Is continually rated as one of the 100 top art fairs in the nation. The Peoria Park District also partners with a variety of organizations to annually host Fiesta en el Rio, Peoria Irish Fest, River City Soul Fest and Gospel Fest, India Fest, Peoria Irish Fest, and Oktoberfest. The Peoria Symphony Orchestra is the 14th oldest in the nation. Peoria is also home to the Peoria Municipal Band, the Peoria Area Civic Chorale,

1183-647: Is divided into five districts. Five council members are elected at-large via cumulative voting . The Township of the City of Peoria (also City of Peoria Township) is a separate government from the City of Peoria, and performs the functions of civil township government in most of the city. The township was created by the Peoria County Board to match the boundaries of the City of Peoria, which until then had overlapped portions of Peoria Township (now West Peoria Township ) and Richwoods Township . The border of

1274-473: Is located in Peoria. This is one of the labs where mass production of penicillin was developed. Northwoods Mall is the largest shopping mall in both Peoria and the Tri-County area. Other retail centers include The Shoppes at Grand Prairie , Junction City Shopping Center, Campustown Shopping Center, Sheridan Village, Metro Centre, Willow Knolls Court, and Westlake Shopping Center. Renaissance Park

1365-620: Is owned by the BNSF Railroad . The Montgomery Spur, which runs from Merriam Junction just south of Shakopee to Montgomery, is operated by the Union Pacific . The Minneapolis Industrial Railway west of I494 was completely abandoned by 1970. Between downtown Minneapolis and Golden Valley, the far eastern portion of the MIR survives today as UP's Golden Valley Industrial Lead. The Chaska Industrial Lead from Merriam Junction to downtown Chaska

1456-403: Is planned to be completed by the end of 2025. 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. It still remains a significant economic driver in the city, and is Peoria's the second-biggest employer. Health care has become a major part of Peoria's economy. Peoria was ranked as

1547-784: Is the oldest permanent European settlement in Illinois, according to the Illinois State Archaeological Survey. Originally known as Fort Clark, it received its current name when the County of Peoria was organized in 1825. The city was named after the Peoria people , a member of the Illinois Confederation . On October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln made his Peoria speech against the Kansas-Nebraska Act . Prior to prohibition, Peoria

1638-606: The Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in 1909 promised further growth, but the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (the "Milwaukee Road") had beaten M&StL to the punch crossing the Missouri River and becoming the last transcontinental line in 1909 when Seattle was reached ending M&StL's push to cross the Missouri River. LeBeau would be the western terminus of the road. By

1729-613: The Children's Hospital of Illinois . In 2023, Carle Health finalized a deal to purchase Methodist and Proctor Hospitals from UnityPoint. It is currently the third-biggest employer in the city, behind OSF HealthCare and Caterpillar Inc. In addition to the three major hospitals, the USDA 's National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research , formerly called the USDA Northern Regional Research Lab,

1820-615: The Illinois River , the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 census , making it the eighth-most populous city in Illinois . It is the principal city of the Peoria metropolitan area in Central Illinois , consisting of the counties of Fulton , Marshall , Peoria , Stark , Tazewell , and Woodford which had a population of 402,391 in 2020. Established in 1691 by the French explorer Henri de Tonti , Peoria

1911-555: The Minnesota Western Railroad , which was the successor line to the famous Luce Line Railroad in central Minnesota. In a move that baffles many to this day in railroad circles, the M&StL purchase of the MW was intended to show increased focus on industrial development for the M&StL. The move had only marginal effects on traffic along the MW and contributed only insignificant profits to the M&StL. In early 1960,

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2002-447: The poverty line . Peoria's first major industry was started in 1830 by John Hamlin and John Sharp, who constructed the flour mill on Kickapoo Creek . In 1837, another industry was begun with E.F. Nowland's pork planting industry. Many other industries started slowly in Peoria including carriage factories, pottery makers, wholesale warehousing, casting foundries, glucose factories, ice harvesting, and furniture makers. Peoria became

2093-779: The vaudeville era and is often spuriously attributed to Groucho Marx . Museums in the city include the Peoria Riverfront Museum , the Pettengill–Morron House and the John C. Flanagan House (both of which are managed by the Peoria Historical Society), and the Peoria Playhouse Children's Museum. Wheels o' Time Museum is near Peoria. Peoria is the oldest European settlement in Illinois, as explorers first ventured up

2184-478: The "world's most beautiful drive" during a 1910 visit, runs through both Peoria and Peoria Heights . In addition to Grandview Drive, the Peoria Park District contains 9,000 acres (36 km ) of parks and trails, making it the largest park system in Illinois. The Illinois River Bluff Trail connects four Peoria Park District parks: Camp Wokanda, Robinson Park, Green Valley Camp, and Detweiller Park;

2275-508: The 117-mile Minnesota Western. The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway was created on May 26, 1870 by a group of Minnesota investors interested in establishing a railroad connection between Minneapolis and the agricultural regions to the south. Minneapolis was home to the largest flour milling operations in the country at that time. Wheat was the primary commodity grown in southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa. Not wanting to be captive shippers for railroad companies from Milwaukee and Chicago ,

2366-415: The 1950s, the result of significant drops in mail, express, and passenger revenue. The last M&StL passenger services—trains 13 and 14 between Minneapolis and Watertown, South Dakota —made their final departures on July 20, 1960. Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( / p i ˈ ɔːr i ə / pee- OR -ee-ə ) is a city in and county seat of Peoria County, Illinois , United States. Located on

2457-613: The Civil War came from Peoria's district, largely due to distilleries and breweries. Peoria also was one of the major bootlegging areas during Prohibition and home to the famed mobsters, the Shelton brothers . That great success placed Peoria into a building boom of beautiful private homes, schools, parks, churches, as well as municipal buildings. In addition to the distilleries came farm machinery manufacturing by William Nurse in 1837. Also, two men called Toby and Anderson brought

2548-491: The Directorate thought they could get for their company. By 1963, long-haul traffic had been transferred to former C&NW routes. Large sections of the former M&StL were abandoned in the 1960s and 1970s. The MW was ripped up in two stages between 1968 and 1970. In the end, Ralph Budd had been right about the M&StL in 1927 predicting the company would never survive. The company survived another 33 years to 1960, but

2639-666: The IHSA State Chess Championship. Which claims to be the largest chess team tournament in the United States: Beginning in 2018, the teams were narrowed to 128 by the use of sectional elimination competitions, and as of 2018 the tournament has about 1500 players, including up to 8 players and 4 alternates per team. Library services in Peoria originated in 1855 with two rival libraries, the Peoria Mercantile Library and

2730-492: The Illinois River from the Mississippi. The lands that eventually would become Peoria were first settled by Europeans in 1680, when French explorers René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti constructed Fort Crevecoeur . This fort would later burn to the ground, and in 1813, Fort Clark, Illinois was built. When the County of Peoria was organized in 1825, Fort Clark was officially named Peoria. Peoria

2821-415: The M&StL Mississippi River bridge still stands between Keithsburg, Illinois and Oakville, Iowa. While the primary business of the M&StL was the haulage of freight, the railroad also operated a limited number of passenger train services. Since the railroad's route structure was not based on direct lines between major American cities, long-distance passenger service was generally not competitive with

Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

2912-621: The M&StL did little to endear himself to the shareholders of the TP&;W. The PRR and the Santa Fe quickly entered the fray attempting to prevent M&StL from acquiring the TP&W seeing as Heineman's group was also acquiring stock in the Monon Railroad . The presidents of both the PRR and the Santa Fe held warm relations with Lucian Sprague, but held disdain for Heineman and eventually

3003-751: The M&StL purchased the western district of the WM&;P in 1899 from the Rock Island and built an extension from Morton, Minnesota eastward toward Minneapolis connecting the western mainline with its southern mainline at Hopkins, thereby connecting the two mainlines and creating a continuous railroad system. In the 1890s the road built its Southwestern branch from Winthrop, through New Ulm, St James, and Sherburn in Minnesota, continuing to Estherville, Terril, Spencer and reaching Storm Lake in Iowa. A mile-long bridge

3094-545: The M&StL was among those to suffer the worst of USRA mismanagement. By 1923, financial difficulties brought on by USRA mismanagement led the road to again enter receivership by mid-year. William Bremner was appointed receiver and the road struggled mightily throughout the remainder of the 1920s. The court overseeing the receivership would not allow expenditures that would have contributed to improved physical plant and greater efficiency, such as new locomotives , modern rolling stock and heavier rail. Bremner soldiered on overseeing

3185-628: The M&StL was one of the earliest victims of the mass mergers in the railroad industry of the 1950s and 1960s ending M&StL's career as a stand-alone carrier and resulting in the eventual abandonment of nearly the entire property. Today only a few short segments of the old M&StL remain in use. In Minnesota, The Minnesota Valley Regional Railroad Authority owns the former M&StL line from Norwood Young America to Hanley Falls and has been operated by Twin Cities & Western affiliate Minnesota Prairie Line . The line from Hanley Falls to Madison

3276-473: The MW was renamed Minneapolis Industrial Railway furthering the campaign of industrialization the road was trying to capture. Only one piece of rolling stock was painted in the MIR livery – a former MW caboose. By 1960, things were business as usual for M&StL. At the January 1960 board meeting, members received traffic and financial forecasts for 1960. The company was in good financial condition even as competition for freight from trucks, barges and other roads

3367-455: The Missouri. The M&StL planned to continue building its line westward from LeBeau, and began initial work on a Missouri River bridge there. Those expansion plans never materialized, however, and LeBeau quickly went into decline after the competing Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad completed its own lines into the region west of the river. The M&StL trackage to LeBeau

3458-420: The PRR and Santa Fe were able to jointly acquire the TP&W at the price of $ 140 per share, much to the ire of Heineman who felt betrayed by TP&W shareholders after having bid up the price thinking his bids would win out. The plan backfired and Heineman eventually left for C&NW in 1956 after his group had gained controlling interest in that road. Not long after Heineman's departure the M&StL acquired

3549-788: The Peoria Library, which consolidated in 1856 as the Peoria City Library, and contained over 1,500 volumes. The Peoria Public Library has five locations, including the Main Library in downtown Peoria, the Lincoln Branch , a Carnegie library opened in 1911, the Lakeview Branch, McClure Branch, and North Branch. (Rugby Football Club) Robertson Field House Professional Baseball League Grandview Drive , which Theodore Roosevelt purportedly called

3640-692: The Rock Island Greenway (13 miles) connects the State of Illinois Rock Island trail traveling north to Toulon, IL and also connects southeast to East Peoria, IL and to the Morton Community Bikeway. Other parks include the Forest Park Nature Center , which features seven miles of hiking trails through prairie openings and forested woodlands, Glen Oak Park, and Bradley Park, which features disc golf as well as

3731-461: The Southwestern north of Storm Lake thereby allowing abandonment to proceed. Other abandonments were granted in the late 1930s in Iowa and South Dakota, trimming 17 percent of railroad in Iowa alone. With these cost saving measures, Sprague began efforts at reorganizing the property in 1940. By 1942 Sprague was elevated to chairman/president and orchestrated a reorganization that year. The effort

Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue

3822-514: The St Paul and Taylor's Falls road as a means to capture a large portion of the lumber market. As the wheat growing regions moved north and west, the company acquired and built lines to South Dakota. Ultimately the railroad's primary line was extended south from the Twin Cities into Iowa and then east to Peoria. It ran through Mason City, Iowa , which became an important traffic center for

3913-408: The TP&W. Perhaps the company would have eventually merged with a partner other than C&NW. In the end, Chairmen Swiren and President Schroeder recognized that the losses the M&StL had already suffered – and other losses it was sure to suffer in the future – was a clear indication that merger was really the only option left for the company. So, the company was sold when its value was as high as

4004-601: The Washburns, Crosbys and Pillsburys – the men who owned the flour mills in Minneapolis – formed their own railroad as a way to ship wheat in and ship flour out. By 1880, the road had reached Albert Lea to the south and leased the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad to ship flour to Duluth, Minnesota for transport to markets served by Great Lakes shipping and to ship lumber south from Northern Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin using

4095-598: The Youth Music Illinois (formerly known as Central Illinois Youth Symphony), Central Illinois Ballet, and the Peoria Ballet. Several community and professional theaters have their home in and around Peoria, including the Peoria Players, which is the fourth-oldest community theater in the nation and the oldest in Illinois. Corn Stock Theatre is another community theater company in Peoria, and is

4186-423: The age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. Individuals made up 33.2% of all households, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.04. The age distribution of city population was the following: 25.7% under

4277-407: The age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 36,397. The per capita income for the city was $ 20,512. Some 18.8% of the population was below

4368-820: The city are: Museums in Peoria include the Pettengill-Morron House , the John C Flanagan House of the Peoria Historical Society, and the Wheels o' Time Museum . The Museum Block, opened on October 12, 2012, houses the Peoria Riverfront Museum and the Caterpillar World Visitors Center. The Museum Block, also known as Museum Square, is a $ 100+ million project that contains the Peoria Riverfront Museum and The Caterpillar Experience,

4459-870: The city. The former Peoria campus of Roosevelt University is now closed. Additionally, Eureka College and the main campus of Illinois Central College are located nearby in Eureka and East Peoria , respectively. As of 2024 Nielsen ratings , Peoria is the 157th largest radio market in the United States and Peoria-Bloomington is the 122nd largest television market in the United States. The area has 14 commercial radio stations with six owners among them; four non-commercial full-power radio stations, each separately owned; five commercial television stations with two operating owners among them; one non-commercial television station; and one daily newspaper ( Peoria Journal Star ). LeBeau, South Dakota LeBeau

4550-507: The city. The population density was 2,543 inhabitants per square mile (982/km ). There were 52,621 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 62.4% White , 26.9% Black or African American , 0.3% Native American , 4.6% Asian , and 3.6% of mixed races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.9% of the population. The city has a sizable, established Lebanese population with a long history in local business and government. There were 45,199 households, out of which 29.0% had children under

4641-580: The combined system had become stable and was absorbing other, smaller railroads. The railroads sold land to prospective farmers at very low rates, expecting to make their profits by shipping farm products out and home goods in. They also set up small towns that would serve as shipping points and commercial centers, and attract businessmen and more farmers. The M&StL in 1905, under the innovative leadership of its vice president and general manager L. F. Day, added lines from Watertown to Le Beau and from Conde through Aberdeen to Leola. It developed town sites along

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4732-574: The company and its assets by selling off scrap, increasing efficiency and ordering significant abandonments, mostly in Iowa. The most notable abandonment was the portion of the Southwestern between Storm Lake, Iowa and Spencer, Iowa which was abandoned in 1936 and the huge bridge that spanned the Little Sioux River valley was dismantled. The Milwaukee Road offered to take over operations along the Storm Lake, Truesdale, Rembrandt remnants of

4823-437: The company's financial position was frequently precarious; the railroad operated under bankruptcy protection between 1923 and 1943. The M&StL was acquired by the Chicago and North Western Railway in 1960, and much of its former trackage was abandoned. In 1956 it reported 1550 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 2 million passenger-miles on 1397 route-miles and 1748 track-miles operated; those totals do not include

4914-641: The cycle manufacturers, developed the first commercially available gasoline-powered automobile in the U.S. in 1893. 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. In 1925, Caterpillar Tractor Co. was formed from California-based companies, Benjamin Holt Co. and the C.L. 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. Today,

5005-472: The early 1920s, however, troubles multiplied, with the murder of a local rancher, a fire that destroyed the business district, and drought that ruined ranchers and farmers alike. LeBeau became a ghost town. The railroad was also having financial problems as the 1920s dawned. The USRA takeover of the US railroad system during World War I turned out to be disastrous for the M&StL. The USRA mis-managed many roads and

5096-414: The east and Heineman played masterfully to their investment that a new management team would increase their value in the company. Further, Heineman believed a great deal of money could be made through merger rather than on operating a railroad. Not long after his arrival, however, Heineman saw great potential in the M&StL as a stand-alone company seeing the road had modern rolling stock, no bonded debts,

5187-450: The first world leader for distilleries thanks to Andrew Eitle (1837), Almiron S. Cole (1844), and Joseph B. Greenhut. Between 1837 and 1919, Peoria held over 24 distilleries and 73 breweries. Together, they produced the highest amount of internal revenue tax on alcohol (also known as ' Sin Tax ') of any single revenue district in the entire United States; as much as 50% of tax revenue during

5278-441: The former area of Richwoods and what is now West Peoria Township . This township has the following neighborhoods: * - unincorporated towns that were assimilated by the City of Peoria: Peoria is divided between several public K-12 school districts: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria runs six schools in the city: five grade schools and Peoria Notre Dame High School . Non-denominational Peoria Christian School operates

5369-431: The gas-electrics also included passenger compartments, and all were able to tow additional passenger and express cars as necessary. Soon, the railcars provided nearly all of the railroad's meager passenger service. The railroad also purchased two Budd RDC's in 1957 for Minneapolis – Des Moines service, but the cars proved unsuccessful and they were sold the following year. M&StL passenger service declined throughout

5460-488: The joint venture between Komatsu and Dresser Industries has long since passed; Komatsu bought out Dresser in 1996. The entity that remains is the off-highway truck manufacturing division for Komatsu America Corporation . 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 new building

5551-516: The longer routes being: the above mentioned Twin Cities to Albia route; an Oskaloosa, Iowa east to Peoria, Illinois mixed train route with a long layover in Monmouth, Illinois; a Twin Cities west to Watertown, South Dakota route and a Twin Cities to route south to Des Moines, Iowa . In 1929, the M&StL began acquiring a number of gas-electric railcars —self-propelled vehicles that included compartments for baggage/express and mail. Some of

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5642-485: The merger case and M&StL remained independent while remaining in serious financial trouble, with the Great Depression just around the corner. During the first part of the 1930s, several suggestions were made to sell off M&StL piecemeal to whoever wanted its disparate pieces. The Illinois Central , CB&Q, Soo Line , GN, Wabash Railroad and the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) comprised

5733-508: The merger proceedings, GN's Ralph Budd found the M&StL to be in deplorable condition and wrote to a colleague that he was even more convinced that M&StL could never make it as a stand-alone carrier. Still, the case was brought before the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) which approved the merger, except that GN and NP would have to divest themselves of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q). Not wanting to part with its very lucrative link to Chicago, GN and NP dropped

5824-432: The new lines and by 1910, the new lines served 35 small communities. Not all the new towns survived. The M&StL situated LeBeau along the Missouri River on the eastern edge of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. The new town a hub for the cattle and grain industries. Livestock valued at one million dollars were shipped out in 1908, and the rail company planned a bridge across the Missouri River. Allotment of land on

5915-400: The only outdoor theater company in Central Illinois. Peoria has hosted the Heart of Illinois Fair every year since 1949. The fair features livestock competitions, rides, concessions, motor contests, and concerts. The Peoria Civic Center includes an arena, convention center, and theater, and opened June 6, 1982, was designed by the famed late architect Philip Johnson . It completed

6006-425: The operations of the road, but there were almost no efforts made at reorganizing the road, as what little cash was available was used to pay bankruptcy creditors. In 1927, the Great Northern Railway (GN) and the Northern Pacific Railway (NP) announced their intentions to merge and would include M&StL in the new "Great Northern Pacific Railway." On an inspection tour of the road with Bremner as part of goodwill in

6097-421: The properties of the M&StL. It is unlikely that the M&StL would have survived the 1960s as a stand-alone company. The merger of the Hill Lines in 1970 would have eventually done in the company as M&StL enjoyed significant bridge traffic from both GN and NP. The BN merger would have meant a massive loss of bridge traffic as BN would have done what it could to keep that traffic on its own rails. M&StL

6188-408: The railroad. One of the major attractions of the railroad was that it allowed freight bound for Illinois to bypass Chicago. The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway had spurs into various parts of Iowa and a line into South Dakota. During the 1880s the M&StL went into its first receivership leaving the Rock Island interests in control of the M&StL. The Rock Island turned over the operation of

6279-424: The sixth midsize healthcare hub in the country by Business Facilities in 2021. Since 2021, OSF HealthCare has been the city's top employer, rising from fourth in 2014. Headquartered in Peoria since its founding in 1877, and it relocated its headquarters to a newly-renovated building in downtown Peoria in 2022. In February 2024, OSF Healthcare opened the $ 250 million OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute. It also includes

6370-484: The steel plow circa 1843, which gained immediate success. The dominant manufacturing companies in Peoria were Kingman Plow Co., Acme Harvester Co., Selby, Starr & Co., and Avery Manufacturing Co. In 1889, Keystone Steel & Wire developed the first wire fence and has since been the nation's leading manufacturer. Around the 1880s, businesses such as Rouse Hazard Co. in Peoria, were dealers and importers of bicycles and accessories worldwide. Charles Duryea , one of

6461-409: The township grew with the Peoria city limits until 1990, when it was frozen at its current boundaries, containing about 53 sq mi (140 km ); the City of Peoria itself has continued expanding outside the City of Peoria Township borders into Kickapoo , Limestone , Medina , and Radnor township. In the years before the freeze, the Township of the City of Peoria had grown to take up most of

6552-548: The trains of larger railroads. The premiere M&StL passenger train was the North Star Limited, which operated from Minneapolis to Albia, Iowa on the M&StL, and then continued to St. Louis via the Wabash Railroad (and a second Wabash option to Kansas City). The North Star Limited was discontinued in 1935. Nonetheless, in 1951 the M&StL still had several extant passenger routes in operation,

6643-528: The western district of the Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific (another Rock Island road) to the M&StL by 1889 which ran from Morton, Minnesota to Watertown, South Dakota (the eastern district of the WM&P ran from Mankato, to Red Wing, Minnesota and later became part of the Chicago Great Western—the two districts of the WM&P were never connected). After receivership ended in the mid-1890s

6734-466: Was 19.7 percent. Median household income was estimated to be 53,568 in 2022. Population was estimated to have decreased approximately 1.9% from 113,176 to 111,021 between 2020 and 2022. According to 24/7 Wall St, in 2018 Peoria ranked as the 5th worst city for Black Americans based on income, educational, and unemployment disparities between Black and white residents. As of the census of 2010, there were 115,021 people and 47,202 households residing in

6825-466: Was a success and in 1943 the receivership was terminated and ownership was returned to the railroad. Despite the curious route structure of the road, it prospered as a bridge line between western and eastern markets in the year following World War II . As a result of prosperous years following the war, Sprague's successful management of the road allowed it to be exposed to corporate raiders, such as Benjamin W. Heineman who in late 1953 began orchestrating

6916-596: Was a town in Walworth County , South Dakota , United States . It was on the east bank of the Missouri River , near the mouth of Swan Creek. LeBeau was the terminus of a branch line of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&StL) built westward in 1907 from Conde , South Dakota. For a time, LeBeau was a boom town, and a major cattle-shipping point for the large ranches on the opposite side of

7007-670: Was abandoned by UP following a trestle collapse along the Minnesota River in the spring of 2007 due to high water. UP later sold the Chaska Industrial Lead corridor to a coalition of area government entities to preserve it for future transportation use, sewer lines, and recreational trails. In Iowa, UP operates the line from Mallard to Grand Junction, from Northwood through Mason City to Rockwell, and Marshalltown to Eddyville. The now-abandoned route owned by Iowa Pacific Railroad from Steamboat Rock to Marshalltown, Iowa,

7098-411: Was appointed in 1837. The city was incorporated on April 21, 1845. This was the end of a village president and the start of the mayoral system, with the first mayor being William Hale. Peoria , Arizona , a suburb of Phoenix , was named after Peoria, Illinois because the two men who founded it in 1890 − Joseph B. Greenhut and Deloss S. Brown − wished to name it after their hometown. Peoria

7189-629: Was built over the valley of the Little Sioux River at Sioux Rapids, Iowa. [1] Its sister railroad, the Iowa Central Railway began in Iowa in 1866 and merged with Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway in 1901. Even as far back as 1870, the company looked immediately to the Iowa Central as a natural ally to capture the Iowa wheat market and to feed the hungry mills along the banks of St Anthony Falls in Minneapolis. By 1916

7280-463: Was eating away at M&StL's traffic base. In April, however, a company meeting was called at the M&StL office building in Minneapolis where Chairman Max Swiren and President Albert Schroeder got right to the point – the M&StL would become part of C&NW (returning control to Ben Heineman), pending approval by regulators and the boards of both companies. On November 1, 1960, the C&;NW acquired

7371-472: Was established in 1949 and has run annually since. The Steamboat Classic , held every summer, is the world's largest four-mile (6 km) running race and draws international runners. The Peoria Santa Claus Parade, which started in 1888, is the oldest running holiday parade in the United States. The Peoria Art Guild, in partnership with the Peoria Park District, hosts the Annual Art Fair, which

7462-433: Was expanded and refurbished in recent years. Finished in 2009, the new zoo improvements more than triple the size of the zoo and feature a major African safari exhibit. Luthy Garden , established in 1951, is 5 acres (2.0 ha) and offers over a dozen theme gardens and a Conservatory. Peoria is a home rule municipality with a mayor and ten city council members. It has a council-manager form of government. The city

7553-400: Was losing less-than-carload (LCL) traffic to the trucking and barge industries which eroded traffic further. The other Granger mergers as well as bankruptcies would have crippled M&StL remaining bridge connections. Losing out on the TP&W property in the mid-1950s was a significant setback for the company. Things might have turned out different for the M&StL had it been able to acquire

7644-596: Was making money and had paid over $ 6M in dividends since receivership had ended back in 1943. The road tried valiantly to acquire the Toledo, Peoria & Western in 1954 and 1955. TP&W would extend M&StL eastward connecting with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and Nickel Plate Road in the east, and the Santa Fe Railroad in the west. However, Heineman's heavy handed tactics in acquiring

7735-464: Was named after the Peoria tribe , a member of the Illinois Confederation . The original meaning of the word is uncertain. A 21st-century proposal suggests a derivation from a Proto-Algonquian word meaning "to dream with the help of a manitou ." Peoria was incorporated as a village on March 11, 1835. The city did not have a mayor, though they had a village president, Rudolphus Rouse, who served from 1835 to 1836. The first Chief of Police, John B Lishk,

7826-657: Was originally designated as a research park, originally established in May 2003 as the Peoria Medical and Technology District. 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. Over $ 2 billion in research

7917-485: Was removed in 1924. In the summers of 1954 and 1955 the University of South Dakota fielded an archeological dig under the leadership of Dr. Wesley Hurt. They excavated a large earth lodge complex next to the old town of LeBeau. One of the student diggers, Tyler Bastian, spent weekends excavating in the cellar pits of LeBeau. Bastian went on to get his Ph.D. and become state archeologist for Maryland. LeBeau at that time

8008-597: Was scrapped and removed in 2015. Canadian National (owner of the former Illinois Central) operated a short spur from Ackley, Iowa northwards to Geneva, Iowa into the early 2000s. While the CN connection to the former M&StL mainline in Ackley still exists to interchange with the Iowa River Railroad, the at-grade railroad crossing over the CN has been removed, cutting off access to the line northward to Geneva. Most of

8099-498: Was significant in the world of bicycle racing during the late 19th century. 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. Taylor described Peoria as the "Mecca" for the sport. For much of the 20th century, a red-light district of brothels and bars known as the Merry-Go-Round was part of Peoria. Richard Pryor got his start as

8190-615: Was the center of the whiskey industry in the United States. More than 12 distilleries operated in Peoria by the end of the 19th century, more than any other city in the U.S. A major port on the Illinois River , Peoria is a trading and shipping center for a large agricultural area that produces corn, soybeans, and livestock. Although the economy is well diversified, the city's traditional manufacturing industries remain important and produce earthmoving equipment, metal products, lawn-care equipment, labels, steel towers, farm equipment, building materials, steel, wire, and chemicals. Until 2018, Peoria

8281-557: 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. The city is associated with the phrase " Will it play in Peoria? ", which may have originated from

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