1845–1880
Peoria, Illinois; United States
Expands American whiskey history beyond Kentucky and demonstrates that large-scale distilling depended on connected urban, agricultural, transportation, and byproduct systems.
Draft Ready for the 1845–1880 rise and mature industrial system. Do not extend this event’s claims to refrigeration, finance, labor organization, Whiskey Trust consolidation, or twentieth-century closure without separately linked evidence.
From the first reported distillery enterprise in 1845 to the mature system described in 1880, Peoria linked corn, spirits production, river and rail transport, distillery swill, stockyards, and large livestock markets.
Publication-ready synthesis
The 1880 Census Office account describes a mature Peoria system rather than isolated distilleries: corn and grain handling, a navigable river, numerous rail connections, large spirits output, swill disposal, stockyards, and high-volume hog and cattle handling.
Chronological boundary
The Census account dates the first local distillery enterprise to 1845 and documents the mature cluster in 1880. The timeline period is therefore bounded to 1845–1880.
Drafting rule
Attribute contemporary rankings and export estimates to the Census Office. Use the visually verified page image for numerical details. Treat later trust consolidation, refrigeration, finance, labor organization, and plant closure as separate evidence programs.