On July 5, 1918, the steamboat Columbia sank upstream near what was then Wesley City after what began as one of the season's premier social events ended in tragedy. Sponsored by the Pekin South Side Social Club, the ornate sternwheeler carried some 500 passengers from Kingston Mines on a trip to Al Fresco Amusement Park in Peoria. On the return trip, as festivities were in full swing, a hole was torn in the Columbia's hull and it sank. The deceased were brought to this riverfront for identification, and of the 87 who died, 57 were from Pekin.