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Upcoming issues of The Peorian will feature walking
tours of Peoria’s more interesting areas. This issue is
the second of three parts about Downtown Peoria.
By Dr. Peter J. Couri
F
rench explorers settled among the native peoples here in 1691 to start
Illinois’ oldest European settlement. The French villages here lasted for
120 years until the French and native peoples were forcibly removed by
American soldiers during the War of 1812. The American soldiers then built
Fort Clark in 1813. You can walk one block south of Main Street to Liberty
Street where a pavilion containing a historic marker commemorates the
founding of Fort Clark with French, British, Spanish and American flags flying.
Peoria’s Surprising Architecture
Walking Tour
6
thePeorian.com