(bright upbeat music) (bright upbeat music swells) (gentle lilting music) - [Narrator] Long before Peoria became a thriving city on the Illinois River, this land stood at the crossroads of empire, trade, and migration.

After the Treaty of Paris in 1763, Britain gained control of the Illinois country, and for a while, the British flag flew over the region that included present day Peoria.

The earliest British influence in Peoria was political rather than permanent.

During the war of 1812, conflict swept through the Illinois territory, and the old French village at Peoria was destroyed amid fear, misunderstanding, and frontier violence.

But by the 1820s, English-speaking settlers with British roots began arriving from Eastern states and the St.

Louis area, looking for land, opportunity, and a place to build a future.

(bright upbeat music) Among them was Abner Eads, who arrived in 1819, with brothers-in-law, Josiah, Seth, and Sam Fulton.

Eads became one of the area's first farmers, purchasing land that would later become part of Peoria's city landscape.

His wife, Rebecca, is remembered as the first non-native woman known to have seen the Peoria area.

Josiah Fulton stayed and helped shape the growing community.

Known as the Father of Peoria, Fulton farmed, owned land in what became downtown Peoria, and served in county government.

His family's story reflects a larger pattern, settlers bringing old British-American traditions westward, then adapting them to life on the Illinois frontier.

Irish roots were also vital in Peoria's early identity.

Judge John C. Flanagan came to Peoria in the 1830s, brought family to the area, served in civic life as an alderman, and built a brick federal-style home overlooking the Illinois River Valley.

Today, the Flanagan house remains Peoria's oldest standing house, a visible reminder of Irish-American settlement and progress on the frontier.

British and Irish settlers helped transform Peoria from a river settlement into a farming, civic, and commercial community.

Their stories are woven into street names, cemeteries, old homes, and public buildings.

Quiet landmarks of the people who adventured westward, stayed, and helped shape the region.

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