Our Local History and Genealogy area houses information on the history of Peru, La Salle County and some surrounding cities in the Illinois Valley. Items in our collection include the LaSalle-Peru Township High School Yearbook, Peru City Directory, Plat maps of the area among other books.The Local History & Genealogy Collection is 
situated between the reading area and study tables on the library’s main floor.
Our Local History and Genealogy collection, cataloged in PrairieCat, is found with an Advanced Search using Peru Public Library as the Library and Local History and Genealogy Collection as the Location.
Remembering Westclox
In light of the recent Westclox fire, area libraries would like to capture the essence of Westclox through the experiences of those who knew the legendary building, company, and personnel best. We thought the ideal way to do this was by collecting written stories and memories from you. The forms can be found at area libraries or print your own by click on the Remembering Westclox form. Write down your memory and give to any staff member at the Peru, La Salle, Oglesby or Spring Valley (Richard A. Mautino Memorial) libraries. These memories and stories will be displayed in the library and later kept as a part of our local history collections. Thank you for your time and contribution in helping us to truly remember and honor Westclox!
Census
We have the U.S. Census covering the La Salle County area from 1830-1930 on microfilm, excepting the 1890 Census which was destroyed by fire.
Sanborn maps
The library has the 1926 Sanborn map of Peru on microfilm.
Newspapers
The local newspaper for Peru is the NewsTribune (formerly the Daily News-Tribune and the La Salle Daily Tribune). The library has back issues on microfilm or CD-Rom for the years April 1906 to present. The library also has online access to the NewsTribune via our Newsbank database back to 1996. Accessing the online NewsTribune version requires a valid Peru Public Library patron card.
We have portions of various newspapers on microfilm in our collection, click for a complete list of the newspaper listing.
Tick-Talk
The library has indexed the Westclox personnel newsletter, Tick-Talk, from the years 1913 to 1966. The Tick-Talk newsletter chronicled staff activities from marriages, births, deaths and promotions. The index is in pdf format, divided by individual letters of the alphabet. Click here to access the Tick-Talk Index.
Vertical File
Over the years, the library has gathered clippings and brochures concerning area churches, organizations, museums and people. This vertical file is accessible in the director’s office. This is the Vertical File Index
The Local History & Genealogy collection is available the same hours the library is open. To contact the Peru Public Library to request an obituary or other historical research, email us at perulibrary@perulibrary.org
Online Indexes
As the State Archivist, the Illinois Secretary of State makes available online as much as possible from the State Archives, for free. To search for Illinois birth, marriage, death or military records, check out the Illinois State Archives.
News-Tribune: A Year in Memoriam
In 2004, the News-Tribune began compiling a yearly listing of area obituaries. The names are compiled by month, and provide a great starting point when trying to pin-point the date of a loved one’s passing.
Year in Memoriam 2004 Year in Memoriam 2008
Year in Memoriam 2005 Year in Memoriam 2009
Year in Memoriam 2006 Year in Memoriam 2010
Year in Memoriam 2007 Year in Memoriam 2011
Maud Powell
Maud Powell was world-renowned violinist, born in Peru. She is the focus of an annual Peru celebration honoring the arts. The Maud Powell Society has additional information on her life and work.
Links to Area Genealogy and History Organizations
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