Peru is a city in LaSalle and Bureau counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,896 at the 2020 census, down from 10,295 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Peru and its twin city, LaSalle, make up the core of Illinois Valley.

History

The city's first settler was John Hays, who arrived in 1830. The city was organized as a borough in 1838, incorporated as a village February 25, 1845, and incorporated as a city on March 13, 1851. The original plat was between West Street, 4th Street, and East Street (now Pine Street).

River City (1831–1933)

thumb|Peru, circa 1900

Since the first steamboat Traveler reached Peru in 1831, the city had high hopes of being the western terminus for the Illinois & Michigan Canal. LaSalle won that designation, but Peru became a busy steamboat port at the head of navigation on the Illinois River. Captain McCormick was involved in the Five Day Line, making record fast trips between Peru and St. Louis, Missouri. Senator Gilson reported to land surveyor, Grenville Dodge, that the town would soon outstrip Chicago due to its favorable location along the river and railroads.

Water Street was a thin ribbon pressed between the bluff and the river, leading to the growth eastward of a large industrial district. Developed along the river and the canal, it was served by the Rock Island Railroad and Chicago Burlington and Quincy. These important transportation routes, along with coal mining in at least four mines lasting from 1857 until 1949, were the basis for Peru's rise to an industrial center. Many entrepreneurs grew into prominent businessmen and advanced the interests of Peru and the region. Prominent companies from that time included Maze Lumber, Maze Nails, Peru Plow and Wheel Works, Huse and Loomis Ice Co, Brunner Foundry, Star Union Brewery, Hebel Brewery, Illinois Zinc (Peru and LaSalle were sometimes referred to as "Zinc City") and many others. Peru's citizens were intent on improving their town, so far as constructing a plank road, northwest of town, a toll road meant to reach Dixon, Illinois. The building caught fire on July 14, 2023.

Geography

thumb|Historical photo of the bluffs of the Illinois River Valley in Peru, Illinois.

As of 2021, Peru has a total area of , of which (or 98.68%) is land and (or 1.32%) is water.

Located on the Illinois River, Peru lies west of the intersection of two major interstate highways: Interstate 39 and Interstate 80. The city is also the western terminus of the historic Illinois and Michigan Canal. Before the Illinois Waterway was constructed, the Illinois River was navigable only up to Peru. Starved Rock State Park, a regional tourist attraction, is located south-east of the community. Peru has a twin city on its eastern edge, LaSalle.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Peru had a population of 9,896. The median age was 46.1 years. 19.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.9 males age 18 and over.

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,760 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,825 housing units at an average density of .

There were 4,420 households in Peru, of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.9% were married-couple households, 21.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Peru is the home of at least three very old companies. It is the national headquarters of American Nickeloid, started in 1898, and the W.H. Maze Co, dealing in lumber and nails, which started the year the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in 1848. Maze Nails is one of America's last remaining nail makers. Peru is home to the offices of Carus Chemical Company, started in 1915, today one of the largest manufacturers of potassium permanganate in the world.

In 2021, the DuPage Pistol Shrimp baseball team relocated from Lisle, Illinois to Peru, becoming the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp. The Pistol Shrimp are a member of the collegiate Prospect League.

Education

Schools serving Peru include:

Elementary schools

  • Peru Public Schools
  • Peru Catholic School
  • LaSalle-Peru Christian School

High schools

  • LaSalle-Peru Township High School
  • St. Bede Academy
  • LaSalle-Peru Christian School

Transportation

The city operates Illinois Valley Regional Airport.

Notable people

  • John Virginius Bennes, architect
  • William P. Bettendorf and Joseph W. Bettendorf, industrialists
  • Zez Confrey, composer and pianist
  • Franklin Corwin, US congressman
  • Gary G. Dahl, politician
  • Grenville Dodge, Civil War general and transcontinental railroad constructor
  • Mike Goff, offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs
  • Ken Gorgal, halfback for the Green Bay Packers
  • Charles F. Gunther, inventor of the caramel
  • J. A. Happ, baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
  • Wilhelmina Kott, oldest person ever from Illinois; born in Peru
  • Donold Lourie, businessman, government official, and college football player
  • Thomas Lynch, pitcher for the 19th-century Chicago White Stockings; born in Peru
  • Russ Meyer, pitcher for six Major League Baseball teams
  • Esther Hobart Morris, first woman justice of the peace in United States; served in Wyoming
  • Maud Powell, born in Peru, violinist and recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Thomas E. G. Ransom, Civil War general, lived in Peru
  • Howard C. Ryan, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court
  • William Donald Scherzer, inventor of the Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridges
  • Joseph P. Stremlau, farmer and Illinois state legislator
  • Stuart Streuver, archaeologist and anthropologist
  • Frank Vlastnik, theater and television actor

References

  • City website