How in the forty-plus years I’ve been visiting the Greater Peoria area I never learned about Farmdale Reservoir is beyond me.

But I made it finally last Saturday, and it is one of those great examples of mid-Twentieth Century massive public works by the Army Corps of Engineers born out of great optimism.

You can read about the history and the amenities here.

It’s a “dry” reservoir in that it only fills up with water in the rare instances when it rains really hard, protecting East Peoria, the main manufacturing hub of Caterpillar. As such, it was a national defense project to keep the company running smoothly.