Peoria, Oregon

Peoria is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Linn County, Oregon, United States. It is on the right bank of the Willamette River at river mile 141 between Eugene and Corvallis. Lacking stores and services, it is a cluster of houses plus a county park along Peoria Road, about south of Oregon Route 34 and north of Harrisburg. As of the 2020 census, Peoria had a population of 103.

History

Peoria, named for Peoria, Illinois, was first settled in 1851 by H. A. McCartney. By 1875, the community was prosperous enough to have four grain warehouses and a school with 60 pupils. However, after the Oregon and California Railroad established a line through Shedd and Halsey further east, business in Peoria declined.
A post office in this vicinity opened in 1855 under the name "Burlington". The name was changed to "Peoria" in 1857, and the office closed in 1900. Through the early decades of the 20th century, a river ferry operated out of Peoria.