East Peoria: Fondulac, Bluetown, Hilton, and Caterpillar
Near Peoria, Illinois
The city across the Illinois River from Peoria went through several identities before it found its footing. The low-lying floodplain land was called Fondulac, French for bottom of the lake. A separate plat called Bluetown appeared in eighteen sixty-four.
On July first, eighteen eighty-four, the two communities merged and incorporated as the Village of Hilton. The name East Peoria came later, chosen to reflect the city's relationship with its larger neighbor across the river. The city's transformation came with manufacturing.
The Holt Manufacturing Company established operations here, and in nineteen twenty-five merged with C.L. Best Tractor Company of California to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company.
Caterpillar's East Peoria facility grew into a major manufacturing center.
