St. Charles, Illinois

St. Charles is a city in DuPage and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It lies roughly 40 mi west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. Per the 2020 census, the population was 33,081. The official city slogan is "Pride of the Fox", after the Fox River that runs through the center of town. St. Charles is part of a tri-city area along with Geneva and Batavia, all western suburbs of similar size and socioeconomic condition.

Early history
St. Charles was the location of the Native American community for the chief of the Pottawatomie that inhabited the area. A city park overlooking the river was dedicated to the Native Americans. After the Black Hawk War in 1832, the entire area of the Fox Valley was opened to American settlement. Evan Shelby and William Franklin staked the first claim in what is now St. Charles in 1833. They came back in 1834 with their families from Indiana, and were joined by over a dozen other families later that year. The township was initially known as Charleston, but this name was already taken by the downstate city of Charleston, Illinois, so the name of St. Charles (suggested by S. S. Jones, a lawyer) was adopted in 1839. St. Charles became incorporated as a city February 9, 1839, and reincorporated October 17, 1874 (under the 1870 Illinois Constitution).

Underground Railroad
Widespread claims of slavery-era Underground Railroad stations operating in St. Charles homes, complete with tunnels and false doorways, have not been historically substantiated. Even so, an active abolitionist group was operating in St. Charles around this time, called the Kane County Anti-Slavery Society. The Society was founded in 1842 and had about 180 members at its peak. The most plausible connection to the Underground Railroad in the town is the Wheeler House, built in St. Charles in 1837.

Transportation history
St. Charles was a very isolated place early on in its existence. The village was located three days away from Chicago, and the Fox River was not navigable for large boats. By the 1850s, St. Charles had begun construction of a plank road to Sycamore but turned down an offer by the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad to construct a line through the town, which was eventually built in nearby Elgin. Lack of regional connections in the early years kept the town relatively small. St. Charles was without a railroad until 1871 when a branch line from Geneva was constructed, and was without a direct connection to Chicago until the 1880s with the coming of the Chicago Great Western Railway.

Streetcar lines along the Fox River between Elgin and Aurora were built through the city in 1896, operated by the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric company. A direct automobile route to Chicago, which eventually became Route 64 (Main Street), was constructed in 1920. Four Illinois state routes, including Routes 64, 38 (Lincoln Highway), 25 (5th Avenue), and 31 (2nd Street) now run through the city. Two major Kane County roads also cut through the city; Randall Road on the west side and Kirk Road on the east side.

Immigration history
St. Charles has attracted groups of European immigrants, including from Ireland and Sweden during the 1840s and 1850s, and later from Belgium and Lithuania.

COVID-19 pandemic
On April 25, 2020, the Kane County Health Department ordered Smithfield Foods to close its meat processing plant because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a local instance of the pandemic's effects on the meat industry in the United States.

Geography
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, St. Charles has a total area of 15.01 sqmi, of which 14.41 sqmi (or 96.00%) is land and 0.60 sqmi (or 4.00%) is water.

The Fox River runs through downtown. Potawatomie Park, which sits on the river, is the largest park in St. Charles and a popular destination for both tourists and tri-city area citizens.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 33,081 people, 12,342 households, and 8,767 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,204.08 PD/sqmi. There were 13,809 housing units at an average density of 920.05 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 81.17% White, 1.75% African American, 0.39% Native American, 4.43% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 4.56% from other races, and 7.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.26% of the population.

There were 12,342 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.82% were married couples living together, 10.45% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.97% were non-families. 23.46% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.55% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 2.60.

The city's age distribution consisted of 21.5% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $102,414, and the median income for a family was $124,032. Males had a median income of $70,051 versus $36,012 for females. The per capita income for the city was $50,467. About 1.8% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over. ''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

Top employers
According to St. Charles' 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Piano-making was a major industry in St. Charles in the first three decades of the 20th century. The arrival of the Chicago Great Western Railway enabled The Cable Co., one of the country's largest producers of pianos and reed organs, to build a factory on 11 acre of land at 410 South 1st Street in 1901.

Employing up to 500 workers: ""[The piano factory] gave St. Charles an international flavor. Ivory for piano keys came from India and Africa. Wool for the hammers came from Australia. Rich wood veneers were imported from Mexico, South America and the gold coast of Africa. In return, Cable distributed its pianos all over the world and had dealers in Spain, Italy, British East Africa, Japan, Australia, and other key foreign places.""

On January 7, 1937, the St. Charles factory closed, having been sold to the W.H. Howell company, which made furniture there until 1980. The building reopened in May 1986 as the indoor Piano Factory Outlet Mall, whose outlet stores included Corning, American Tourister, Carter's, Pfalzgraff, and Anchor Hocking. It was foreclosed upon and closed in 1997. The building was razed in September 2000 to make way for a residential development; the site is now occupied by condominiums and mixed-use buildings.

Arts and culture
Kane County fair grounds on Randall road is the home of the Kane County Fair in July, the Kane County Flea Market the first Sunday and preceding Saturday of every month. The annual Dragon Boat festival and family event during the second weekend of June are held in Potawatomi Park. Lincoln Park, in downtown St. Charles, serves as the central location for the Scarecrow Festival in October. St. Charles is home to the Fox Valley Concert Band.

St. Charles is home to the Arcada theatre, a notable attraction within the Fox River valley, where many famous performers have appeared including Martin Short, Joan Rivers, and Paul Anka. Local theatres include Steel Beam Theatre, the Vero Voce Theater & School of Performing Arts, and Kane Repertory Theatre.

Historic Hotel Baker, which opened in 1928, is a symbolic representation of the rich history of downtown St. Charles.

Downtown St. Charles was named one of the region's "Top 10" by the Chicago Tribune for fine dining, arts and entertainment, recreational opportunities, unique shopping, and a lively nighttime personality.

The St. Charles History Museum maintains a small museum of community artifacts in a historic former Texaco service station that was originally built in 1928 on Main Street.

The St. Charles Public Library is nationally ranked among the best libraries in the U.S. and has earned a "three star" rating in the 2010 Library Journal Index. Located near downtown St. Charles, the library has a large collection of print materials, as well as DVDs, CDs, downloadable content, online research databases, and a genealogy collection.

St. Charles is home to the Q Center, a 95 acre conference site. Originally built as a Catholic Women's Liberal Arts College, St. Dominic College, it later became Arthur Andersen's Center for Professional Education. It is now used by Accenture, and hosts meetings, conferences and executive learning for Fortune 500 companies, associations and social, military, education, religious, and fraternal organizations from all over the world.

St. Charles hosts an annual Scarecrow Weekend, featuring 100+ handmade scarecrows.

The Great Western Trail passes through town.

State government
The Illinois Youth Center St. Charles (IYC St. Charles), a juvenile correctional facility of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, is in St. Charles. It opened in December 1904.

Transportation
Pace provides bus service on Routes 801 and 802 connecting St. Charles to Elgin, Aurora, and other destinations.

Education
The public education system in St. Charles is operated by the Community Unit School District 303, which currently has thirteen elementary schools: Anderson, Bell-Graham, Corron, Davis, Ferson Creek, Fox Ridge, Lincoln, Munhall, Norton Creek, Wasco, and Wild Rose. Also including Davis Primary (K-2), and Richmond Intermediate (3-5) split elementary schools. There are two middle schools: Thompson and Wredling; and two high schools: St. Charles East High School, and St. Charles North High School. The Glenwood School for Boys and Girls has a campus in St. Charles known as the Rathje Campus named for the Frank C. Rathje family. St. Patrick Catholic School opened its doors in 1930 and previously served about 500 students at the downtown campus. Saint Patrick Catholic school is downtown campus is now a preschool. The school opened another location off Randall Road which serves over 500 students. St. Charles is part of Community College District 509 which is served by Elgin Community College.

Notable people

 * Edward J. Baker, wealthy benefactor; provided the funding for several buildings in St. Charles; born and raised in St. Charles
 * Robert F. Casey, Illinois state legislator and lawyer, practiced law in St. Charles.
 * Chrissy Chlapecka, singer, songwriter, Internet personality
 * Frantz Hunt Coe, physician, public official, and educator
 * Ethan Cutkosky, actor
 * John F. Farnsworth, Union Army general and U.S. congressman; friend of Abraham Lincoln; lived in St. Charles
 * Dennis E. Fitch, off-duty pilot who helped saved lives in the crash of United Airlines Flight 232; died in St. Charles
 * Michael Heisley (1937–2014), businessman and majority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. He was a resident of St. Charles at various times in his life and at the time of his death.
 * Helmut Jahn (1940–2021), architect and member of the postmodern group of architects dubbed the Chicago Seven. He was a St. Charles resident at the time of his death.
 * Dallas Jenkins, actor
 * Marci Jobson, born and raised in St Charles, professional soccer player and coach
 * Jenny McCarthy, lives in St. Charles, actress
 * Tera Moody, long-distance runner
 * Karen Morrison-Comstock, Miss Illinois USA 1974, Miss USA 1974
 * Michael J. Nelson, comedian and writer; (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
 * Dellora A. Norris, civic philanthropist
 * Tyler Nubin, NFL football player
 * David Purcey, left-handed relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox
 * Matt Reynolds, relief pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks
 * Matthew Shiltz Quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League
 * Donnie Wahlberg, lives in St. Charles, entertainer
 * Brian Wilson, singer and member of the Beach Boys; lived in St. Charles
 * Chris Witaske, actor
 * Rick Wohlhuter, 1976 800m Olympic bronze medalist; born in St. Charles
 * Randy Wright, former professional football quarterback

In popular culture

 * 1980 TV film Coach of the Year's setting was local but only partial principal photography took place.


 * The downtown St. Charles Fox River bridge briefly featured in 1994 film With Honors.


 * Principal photography for 2011 horror film Munger Road took place at the Baker Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church and the St. Charles Municipal Center.


 * Featured in 2020 documentary film A Secret Love about a long time residing couple.


 * Principal photography for 2023 film, The Killer, took place at the Hotel Baker.