Name This Peoria Landmark

Peoria Landmark #311

While searching for information on Judge Jacob Gale, I stumbled upon this story from the Ottawa Herald. At first glance I didn’t realize the Ottawa Herald was printed in Ottawa, KS, not Ottawa, IL, nor did I realize the article was referring to Peoria, KS, not Peoria, IL – but it could.

I stumbled upon the little town of Peoria last week after working on a story about one of the homes there.

It amazed me.

Call me a history nerd, but as I drove down the streets (or is it just one street?) I couldn’t help but imagine what the town was like 100 years ago. I could see Alfred Johnson’s general store stocked full of goodies and supplies.

I could picture Aunt Jane Robinson — a former slave — walking around town with her husband, Uncle Bill.

It didn’t stop there. Soon I imagined myself sitting in the old rock schoolhouse learning lessons, reading books. Or attending church services in one of the two town churches that are no longer left standing.

Peoria’s rich history fascinated me. And even though little of the original town still remains, the beauty of the area — the land, the quietness — are still there.

Not to mention the friendly people. As I drove around the small town, I was greeted with smiles and waves every where I went. One man waved at me at least four times.

But my favorite part of the Peoria tour wasn’t the houses I saw or the people who waved at me. Rather, driving around the cemetery made me realize how many people have lived in that area, how many people have come and gone. And it made me think about how many people in the Ottawa area might not even know where it is or what it is.

Those people are missing out.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 30th, 2009 at 10:20 am and is filed under Peoria, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.