The area of today's Bloomington was at the edge of a large grove enjoyed by the Kickapoo people before the first Euro-American settlers arrived in the early 1820s. Bloomington was named as county seat on December 25, 1830, when McLean County was created. James Allen, who was one of the promoters of the new county, offered to donate 60 acres of his own land for the new town. His offer was accepted and Bloomington was laid out. Bloomington is the host of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, which is a nationally recognized Shakespearean festival. The census of July 2007 says the population was 72,416 people.
