Plan a vacation to Pekin, Illinois - Rand McNally Pekin, Illinois Travel Guide

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Plan a Road Trip > Explore America > Illinois > Pekin

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Time Zone
Central

Latitude/Longitude
40.56° /-89.64°

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The seat of Tazewell County, this Illinois River town was first settled by Jonathan Tharp in 1824. The town was platted in 1829 at which time it was named after Pekin, China. The city's most famous offspring, U.S. Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen (1896-1969), is buried here in the Glendale Memorial Gardens. The Dirksen Congressional Leadership Research Center, part of the Pekin Public Library, has changing exhibits of the papers and personal memorabilia of Dirksen and other American leaders. The city's largest celebration, the annual Pekin Marigold Festival held in September, was begun in 1972 as a tribute to the late senator.

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