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Peoria, Illinois, the largest city on the 273-mile long Illinois River and home to the world headquarters of Caterpillar, Inc., now has its own official lighthouse, the first one since the area was settled back in 1691.
The idea for a lighthouse in Peoria actually started back in 1998 when the 100-year old Ivy Club, then known as the Illinois Valley Yacht and Canoe Club, wanted to increase the size of the harbor at Mile Marker 167.9, mainly to accommodate more boats as well as larger boats.
When the construction of new breakwater was started in 2005, the idea of a lighthouse at the end of the breakwater began to take hold. Not only would the lighthouse serve as an aid to navigation for the safety of mariners, it would also enhance the area to make it more widely recognized and known to boaters as well as tourists.
Like any project of this type, it took time to raise the money and get the necessary approvals and permits. The all steel structure was made by Jim Croll of JRC Fabricating out of Canton, Michigan and East Tawas, Michigan, who delivered it to their site in Illinois. LED Solar lighting was chosen for the beacon because of its longevity and ease of maintenance.
Steamboat Elsie, who operated and maintained the Longman’s Landing Lighthouse approximately 30 miles up the river in nearby Henry, Illinois until her death in 1945, would probably be proud that the Ivy Club is once again bringing the tradition of operating a lighthouse on the Illinois River.
(Photographs courtesy of James Johnston, Club Historian, Ivy Club.)
This story appeared in the
Jan/Feb 2014 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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