Pekin, Illinois

Encyclopedia : P : PE : PEK : Pekin, Illinois

Pekin is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois. The population was 33,857 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Tazewell County^{[Geographic references#6GR6]}. Pekin is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria-Pekin MSA.

Farmer Jonathan Tharp was the first non-Indian resident, building a log cabin in 1824. For some time after the arrival of white settlers, there continued to be a quite large Indian Village, populated primarily by Potawatomi, along the ridge of what is today Pekin Lake. After a county surveyor laid out a "Town Site," an auction of this town plat and site was held in Springfield, Illinois. The village site was awarded to Major Isaac Perkins, Gideon Hawley, William Haines and Major Nathan Cromwell, the last of whose wife named the City of Pekin after Beijing, China, which was at that time spelled "Peking" or "Pekin," spellings still common in German and French. A fine short history of the village is on-line at http://www.villageprofile.com/illinois/pekin/03his/index.html Pekin Community High School teams were officially known as the Pekin Chinks until 1980.

Contents

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 People born or raised in Pekin
4 External links

Geography

Pekin is located at [40°34′4″N, 89°38′13″W] (40.567788, -89.636949)^{[Geographic references#1GR1]}.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.6 km² (13.8 mi²). 34.1 km² (13.1 mi²) of it is land and 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (4.36%) is water.

Pekin lies on the Illinois River, and its John T. McNaughton Bridge connects the city to a small area of land the city has annexed in Peoria County.

Nearby towns include North Pekin, Creve Coeur, Marquette Heights, Morton, Groveland, Tremont, and South Pekin.

Demographics

As of the census^{[Geographic references#2GR2]} of 2000, there were 33,857 people, 13,380 households, and 8,804 families residing in the city. The population density was 994.1/km² (2,574.8/mi²). There were 14,038 housing units at an average density of 412.2/km² (1,067.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.80% White, 2.55% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population.

There were 13,380 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,972, and the median income for a family was $46,346. Males had a median income of $35,906 versus $21,705 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,616. About 6.8% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

People born or raised in Pekin

Scott D. Altman, astronaut
Mark Staff Brandl, artist
Wyllis Cooper, writer, radio
Susan Dey, actress
Everett McKinley Dirksen, congressman and senator
Brad Elvis, rock 'n' roll drummer
Th. Emil Homerin, scholar of religion and mysticism
The Jets, 1970s rock band (different than The Jets from Minneapolis)
Larry Kenney, actor
John T. McNaughton, Harvard Law School professor and Vietnam War planner
Danny Lloyd, actor in The Shining, taught science in Pekin.
D.A. Points, professional golfer.
Ethyl Eichelberger, (1945-1990) An influential figure in experimental theater

External links

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