Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Elmwood, IL

Elmwood is a city in western Peoria County, Illinois, and is part of the Peoria metropolitan area.

Elmwood was first settled in 1834, platted in 1852 by William J. Phelps, and officially founded in 1854.

Elmwood was named for a grove of elm trees near the mansion of William J. Phelps, one of the first settlers and the town's first postmaster, whose barn served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Elmwood is the birthplace of Lorado Taft, born there on April 29, 1860, who became one of America's leading sculptors and created Chicago's Fountain of Time.

Elmwood's Central Park features Taft's bronze sculpture The Pioneers, a gift to his hometown that the community raised more than $15,000 to cast and mount; it was unveiled on May 27, 1928, before a crowd of about 10,000 people, and Taft's ashes were later scattered in Elmwood Cemetery.

Elmwood Academy, founded in 1855 by the sculptor's father, Professor Don Carlos Taft, gave the small town an educational reputation that drew students from across a wide area.

Frederick Douglass gave a lyceum lecture in Elmwood on a bitterly cold night in early February 1871, an experience he later recounted in his memoir Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.

On the night of June 5, 2010, a tornado touched down in Elmwood, destroying city hall and other buildings and damaging the roof of the local theater, though most town businesses eventually reopened.

Elmwood had a population of 2,058 at the 2020 census, living in 819 households, down slightly from its peak of 2,117 residents in 1980.

Elmwood hosts an annual Strawberry Festival in June and an annual Fall Festival in September, and it still celebrates Lorado Taft's birthday every April 29.