Washington, Illinois

already in place and those they are planning to finish. He acknowledges, “We’ve got a really strong mix of amenities that families look for when searching for a place to live, and so we like to keep building on those, but maybe more importantly from our standpoint is to be able to find some of those amenities a community like ours typically doesn’t have.” The unique community is one of the oldest in the state and has a historic downtown that brings the core area to life with boutique shops, restaurants, and other small businesses. The city is also a retail hub for surrounding small communities and Oliphant believes that’s one of the many reasons Washington has become “a community that people throughout the region have looked to as a desirable place to live.” The city was founded in 1825 by North Carolina- native William Holland, Sr., who came to the Peoria area (then called Fort Clark) after being hired by the U.S. government to provide blacksmith services to the local Indigenous WASHINGTON, I LL INOI S community. During his life, Holland was married three times, and was the father of 21 children: 14 by his first wife and seven by his second wife. He had 82 grandchildren and 50 great grandchildren and died in Washington, Illinois on November 27, 1871 at the ripe old age of 91. The post office (and later the city) was originally named Holland’s Grove in 1833 before it was renamed in honor of the first U.S. President, George Washington, in 1837. In the 1920s, George Heyl put Washington on the map as the home of the famous Heyl Pony Farm. Some of the original barns still exist on North Main Street. The Heyl Pony Farm supplied Shetland Ponies to buyers around the world. When Heyl died in 1932, it was recorded as one of the largest funerals ever held in the city. Fast forward to 2021…Washington is home to about 16,600 residents and is a bedroom community for Peoria. The municipality is now working to create a 20-year comprehensive plan for the city, including its infrastructure,