Tremont, IL

Tremont is a Tazewell County village about 14 miles southeast of Peoria, with 2,277 residents in the 2020 census. James Chapman settled in the area in 1820, and the village grew around a prairie setting named for its three rises. Tremont Community Unit School District 702 runs the local school map, with grade school, middle school, and high school campuses in town. The Tazewell County Health Department also has its headquarters here. The village also has a historical society and museum. The big community tradition is the Tremont Turkey Festival, which started in 1966 as a fundraiser for a village swimming pool.

It has since grown into a three-day summer tradition with a parade, bed races, antique tractors, vendors, and a carnival, all powered by local volunteers. The Tremont District Library adds a more everyday gathering spot. Tremont is a small central Illinois village with a prairie name, a festival people plan around, and enough local institutions to keep the town's center busy.