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thePeorian.com
The Present
T
he Peoria Historical
Society has been
proud to have been
a collaborative partner in
the development of the
new Peoria Riverfront
Museum. At long last, a
first class museum quality
exhibit will present the
extraordinarily unique
history of the city and the
region. Recently, the His-
torical Society celebrated
75 years of preserving
and telling the fascinat-
ing events associated
with the settlement and
development of the oldest
community in the state of
Illinois.
Now the Historical
Society is looking forward,
to expanding its focus and
outreach to the commu-
nity. The commitment of the Soci-
ety to preserving and enhancing
the two historic homes (Flanagan
House and the Pettengill-Morron
House) entrusted to its perpetual
care requires it to move forward
as an organization separate from
the new Museum. The Histori-
cal Society is now working on
implementing new technologies
available through the Internet to
expand the opportunities for the
general public to access the docu-
ments and images that reside in
our extensive collections.
The Historical Society is also
now proud to announce a collab-
orative project with the Institute
for Principled Leadership at
Bradley University. Together as
partners, these two organizations
have developed a new award for
the Tri-County area, named after
the founder of Peoria, the French
explorer Henri de Tonti. Tonti
originally explored the Illinois
River and Mississippi Rivers
as an associate of René-Robert
Cavalier, Sieur de LaSalle. Upon
LaSalle’s death in July of 1690,
the King of France granted Tonti
and his partners, the exclusive
trading rights to the entire Illinois
Country. The following year, in
the fall of 1691, under Tonti’s di-
rection, his partners moved their
trading outpost from Starved
Rock to the western shores of
Lake Pimiteoui. When Tonti
arrived at the new outpost, he
directed that a fort should
be constructed to provide
shelter and protection for
both the French as well as
Native Americans living
in villages adjacent to the
outpost. These activities
are generally accepted as
establishing the founda-
tion for the development
of the City of Peoria.
The Henri de Tonti
Award will be presented
annually to an individual,
business or organization
from the Tri-County area
in recognition of their
outstanding community
principled leadership. The
Peoria Historical Society
together with the Institute
for Principled Leadership
are pleased to announce
that the inaugural Henri
de Tonti Award will be presented
to Caterpillar Inc. in recognition
of the company’s commitment to
providing principled leadership
to communities and organiza-
tions throughout the Tri-County
area for over one hundred years.
This award recognizes not only
the corporate continuous dedica-
tion to local principled leader-
ship, but the individual efforts of
company employees in providing
principled leadership to both
governmental and non-profit
organizations in Tri-County com-
munities both large and small.
Intrigued by the concept of an
annual award named after the
founder of Peoria, artist Lonnie
Stewart is creating a sculpture
The Henri de Tonti Award
By Mark Johnson, Vice President, Peoria Historical Society