Peoria County is named for the Indian tribe called the Peorias, one of the tribes from the Illinois confederacy.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Stark County and Marshall County
E – Marshall County, Woodford County and Tazewell County
S – Tazewell County
W – Fulton County and Knox County
Created: January 13, 1825
County Seat:
Peoria 1825 – present
County Courthouse – Peoria
Location: 324 Main Street / Jefferson Avenue
Built: 1962 – 1964
Style: Modern
Architect: Lankton-Ziegele Terry & Associates
Contractor: O Frank Heinz Construction Company
Description: The building faces southwest and is a two story and five story stone, concrete and glass structure. The building is located in the center of Peoria with the Courthouse Plaza located on the east side. The building forms an “L” shape with a two story section on the southwest and two five story towers on the north and south sides. Along the first story is dark polished stone divided by narrow stone faced dividers and with narrow windows above the stone. On the east section of the south side, windows extend above the main glass entrance. The roof line is flat. In the interior a central hallway runs the length of the building. There are 14 County Circuit Court courtrooms. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 10th Judicial Circuit. A five story addition was constructed on the north side from 1988 to 1990 which added nine courtrooms. The architect was Phillips Swager Associates and the contractor was C Iber & Sons Inc. The building and grounds were renovated in 2025 to 2026. The architect was TerrCon Design and the contractor was CORE Construction Services of Illinois, Inc. of Peoria.
History: The county was created in 1825 and Peoria was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse in 1825 was a 20 foot by 20 foot log cabin. The second courthouse was a two story structure built near the Bob Michel Bridge in 1835. In 1876 to 1878, a four story structure was designed by Wilcox and Miller and constructed by Philip H Decker at a cost of $250,000. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1962 to 1964. The courthouse was expanded in 1988 to 1990 at a cost of $11,500,000.
See: The 10th Judicial District includes Marshall County, Putnam County, Stark County and Tazewell County.
County Courthouse – Peoria
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2025
Images 5