Sommer Farm

10/03/2026

1778: Captain James Cook anchors at Alaska.

1849: American author Edgar Allan Poe is found delirious in a gutter in Baltimore, Maryland under mysterious circumstances; it is the last time he is seen in public before his death.

1862: Battle of Corinth, Mississippi.

1863: US President Abraham Lincoln designates the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

1913: US federal income tax at 1% is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson.

1922: Governor of Georgia names Progressive writer Rebecca Felton (87) to fill an unexpired term in the US Senate; she becomes the first woman in Congress, the oldest person, and the shortest-termed, as she serves only 24 hours in November.

10/02/2026

1789: George Washington transmits the proposed constitutional amendments, known as the United States Bill of Rights, to the states for ratification.

1835: Battle of Gonzales is fought between Texan settlers and Mexican forces, the first engagement of the Texas Revolution.

1852: Peoria. William Easterly, a hobbled convict, leaped from the steamboat Excel on a trip to prison and escaped.

1861: Former US Vice-President John C. Breckinridge flees Kentucky.

1871: US Mormon leader Brigham Young arrested for bigamy.

1889: In Colorado, Nicholas Creede strikes it rich in silver during the last great silver boom of the American Old West.

1893: Cheniere Caminada hurricane is the third worst hurricane in US history and one of the first to be classified as a Category 4 storm, killing 1,800 people in Louisiana.

1919: US President Woodrow Wilson has a stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed.

1936: First auto alcohol plant for the industrial production of fuel alcohol from grains and potatoes starts operations in Atchison, Kansas.

10/01/2026

What wonderful news for our community. Thanks for being apart of this award as a park payron.

Big news for our parks—and the people who make them possible! 🌳🏆

The Peoria Park District has earned national CAPRA accreditation, joining fewer than 2% of park and recreation agencies nationwide that hold this distinction!

Our staff proudly accepted the recognition at the National Recreation and Park Association conference in Philadelphia this week. But this achievement belongs to our entire District—the employees whose work keeps our parks, facilities and programs serving our community every day. 💚

Accreditation through the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies recognizes our commitment to quality, accountability and continuous improvement. For you, that means a commitment to caring for the places you love, using resources responsibly and finding ways to serve you even better.

Thank you to our team for the work behind this milestone, and to our community for giving that work its purpose!

10/01/2026

🌧️ We hate to start the season with a rain check, but tonight’s first Hayrides & Hotdogs at Sommer Farm is canceled due to the forecast of rain.

That just gives us a little more time to build the fall anticipation! 🍂🌭 We can’t wait to welcome you for hayrides, hotdogs and a cozy evening on the farm on October 8, 15 or 22!

10/01/2026

Sommer Farm is sorry to announce that our Hayrides & Hotdogs event scheduled for tonight has been canceled due to the weather. For the safety of our patrons and staff we have made this hard decision. We hope to see you all for the next three Thursdays!

10/01/2026

1854: The watch company, founded in 1850 in Roxbury by Aaron Lufkin Dennison, relocates to Waltham, Massachusetts, to become the Waltham Watch Company, a pioneer in the American System of Watch Manufacturing.

1854: Peoria. The Peoria Democratic Press today published a letter signed by Brigham Young and eleven other elders of the Mormon church of Nauvoo in which the Mormons agreed to leave Nauvoo and Hancock county next spring if the anti-Mormons would leave them alone until that time. The message was written at Nauvoo on Sept. 16 and was addressed to Col. Levi Williams, the anti-Mormon leader, and his followers.
The same newspaper printed Governor Ford's call for 500 militiamen from Central Illinois to quell the troubles in Hancock county where three Mormons and 18 anti-Mormons had been killed recently in open warfare between the factions.

1890: US Congress establishes Yosemite National Park.

1903: First Baseball World Series game ever played; Pittsburgh Pirates beat Boston Americans 7-3 at Huntington Avenue; Jimmy Sebring hits first home run; Deacon Phillippe is the winning pitcher, and Cy Young is the loser.

1907: A downturn in the stock market leads to a run on the dollar; US President Theodore Roosevelt calls on financier J. P. Morgan to help manage the financial crisis.

1908: Henry Ford introduces the Ford Model T car, priced at $825.

1926: Oil field accident costs aviator Wiley Post his left eye; he uses the settlement money to buy his first aircraft.

1932: Babe Ruth's legendary call: taunted by the Cubs dugout, he points to center field before homering into the Wrigley Field bleachers in the 5th inning of Game 3 of the World Series; the NY Yankees win 7-5.

09/30/2026

1846: Anesthetic ether is used for the first time by American dentist Dr. William Morton to extract a tooth.

1862: First Battle of Newtonia, Newton County, Missouri.

1880: American amateur astronomer Henry Draper takes the first photograph of the Orion Nebula.

1895: Stephen Crane's novel "The Red Badge of Courage" is published to wide acclaim.

1919: Elaine Massacre: Arkansas state militia and rioters kill over 200 Black people in response to sharecroppers' attempt to organize against landowners; trials of survivors for murder lead to Supreme Court-enacted judicial reforms.

1934: In his final game as a New York Yankee, Babe Ruth goes 0 for 3.

1935: The Boulder Dam, astride the border of Arizona and Nevada, is dedicated by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1942: Admiral Chester Nimitz's B-17 finds Guadalcanal using a National Geographic map.

09/29/2026

Thursday's in October 8-15-22 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Celebrate the season with a cozy evening of fall fun! Hayrides & Hotdogs is your chance to enjoy a scenic hayrack ride through the countryside and gather around the fire to roast your own hotdogs and s’mores. Whether you’re coming with family or friends, it’s the perfect way to soak up the crisp autumn air and make warm memories.

Meal Options:

1 Hotdog Meal – $8.00
2 Hotdog Meal – $10.00
Each meal includes vegetarian beans, chips, a drink, and a s’mores kit.

Come hungry, leave happy—Fall never tasted so good!

09/29/2026

1864: Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights in Henrico County, Virginia.

1869: Peoria. H. W. McFadden of Havana and Wm. J. Dobbins of Peoria will build a 75,000 bushel elevator along the T P & W, a block above Persimmon St. The T P & W will lay switch tracks on each side for receiving and shipping grain.

1872: Kiowa Chief Lone Wolf captures Satanta and Big Tree.

1904: First monument honoring Spanish–American War is erected in Monroeville, Ohio.

1915: Hurricane claims 275 lives in the Mississippi Delta.

1916: American oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller becomes the world's first billionaire.

1927: Tornado strikes St. Louis, Missouri; 85 die.

1940: Booker T. Washington, the first US merchant ship commanded by a Black captain, Hugh Mulzac, is launched in Wilmington, Delaware.

09/28/2026

1779: American Revolution: Samuel Huntington is elected President of the Continental Congress, succeeding John Jay.

1781: An estimated 9,000 American and 7,000 French troops begin the Siege of Yorktown.

1854: Peoria. Jonathan C. Cooper and other prominent Whigs sent a petition asking Abraham Lincoln to debate in Peoria with Stephen A. Douglas on October 16.

1861: Peoria. The boiler exploded at Mr. Carroll's distillery, a short way below the toll bridge. The building was destroyed and two workers were killed.

1868: Opelousas Massacre in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana: 200 Black people killed.

1901: American businessman King C. Gillette establishes the American Safety Razor Company.