EAST PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — East Peoria revealed on Thursday a plaque memorializing how Holt Manufacturing Company worked alongside the U.S. Army to help win World War I.
During the war, artillery was one of the key weapons on the front lines. Transporting the heavy equipment was a challenge, though, with horses being the most effective way to move artillery from point A to point B.
That’s until one key invention was created: the tractor. They replaced horses in moving artillery. While Holt didn’t outright invent tractors, they created a key technology in the tracks that allowed the vehicles to travel uphill.
“[It was] a huge deal and it probably saved the war effort,” said William Furry, the executive director of the Illinois Historical Society. “These tractors were able to roll through the hills and valleys of France through great big mud pits.”
Captain Harry T. Herring met with Holt Vice President Murry Baker to create Camp Herring. Located near the Edmund Street Caterpillar building, the camp trained soldiers in the maintenance and repair of these tractors.
That history is now written down on a plaque that will be shown in the Levee District Park. The plaque revealed on Thursday was a mock-up, with the real plaque to be installed in the near future.
East Peoria Mayor John Kahl said this monument will help teach the next generation how East Peoria helped win the Great War.
“This is something that has folks right here with their young ones that they can educate themselves on a piece of history dating all the way back to 1917,” he said.
Furry said it’s rare to see WW1 monuments in Illinois, and this will be one of the first of its kind in East Peoria.
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