Pekin, IL

Pekin is a Tazewell County city on the Illinois River, just south of Peoria. Farmer Jonathan Tharp is remembered as the first non-Native resident of what became Pekin, and the river helped shape the city's early growth. Pekin's most distinctive annual event is the Marigold Festival, started in 1973 to honor U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen, who was from the city. Pekin feels like a solid central Illinois river town, with parks, older neighborhoods, industry, and Peoria close enough to matter.