continue tour:
                  Utica Area

River town
Peru, established in 1834 at the head of navigation on the Illinois River, competed with LaSalle to become the I&M canal terminus, but the Canal Commissioners selected LaSalle. Peru prospered during canal construction as the terminus of stage coach traffic from Chicago. After the canal opened in 1848, passengers often traveled between river steamboats docked in Peru to canal boats docked in LaSalle by stagecoach.

Local Celebrity
Peru prospered as LaSalle did thanks to river and canal traffic and its abundant coal mines. Note the statue of Maud Powell on Main Street. Born in Peru in 1868, she was a world-renowned concert violinist. She was welcomed home to Peru for concerts in its downtown “Turverein” in 1908, 1910, and 1913. The downtown first developed along the riverfront, but was eventually moved up the bluff away from flooding. Note the historic waterfront buildings and dine in the restaurants.