From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia West Chicago, Illinois
West Chicago, Illinois
According the United States Census Bureau, the city
has a total area of 13.8 square miles (35.8 km²), all of it
land.
West chicago History
The most notable early settler in the area was Erastus
West Chicago, Illinois Gary, of Pomfort Conn., who homesteaded 760 acres on
the banks of the DuPage River just south of West Chica-
County:
County: DuPage
go’s present day city limits in the 1830’s. Gary was the
Township:
Township: Winfield father of "Judge" Elbert Gary, for whom Gary, Indiana
Mayor:
Mayor: Michael B. Kwasman is named, and who was the first CEO of America’s first
billion-dollar corporation, US Steel. Gary was also instru-
code(s):
ZIP code(s): 60185, 60186 mental in bringing brothers Jesse and Warren Wheaton,
Area code(s):
code(s): 630 and 331 founders of nearby Wheaton, Illinois, the Dupage County
seat, from Connecticut to the Midwest. A pioneer ceme-
(2000):
Population (2000): 23,469 tery on the old Gary Homestead, where a sawmill had
Density: 1,700.7/mi² (656.7/km²) been built by the Garys, just north of Gary’s Mill Road,
and north of its terminus at Il. State route 59, was bull-
Area: 13.8 mi² (35.74 km²)
dozed and built over for apartment buildings during the
Per capita income :
income: $19,287 administration of mayor John Downs in the 1960’s.
(median: $63,424) In 1849, with the Galena and Chicago Union railroad
Home value:
value: $192,993 reached the site of present day West Chicago, where
(median: $160,200) America’s first railroad junction point west of Chicago
was created by a second railroad, the Chicago, Fulton
Website: www.westchicago.org
and Iowa, heading west through Geneva, with the G&CU
heading northwest to St. Charles, Illinois and points west.
Demographics[1]
The Building of the railroad was enabled by $350,000
White Black Hispanic Asian raised by William Butler Ogden, Chicago’s first mayor and
58.3% 1.7% 38.1% 1.9% a major player in the Transcontinental railroad, which
was finished in 1869, near Promontory Summit Utah. Og-
Islander Native Other
den, as president of the Union Pacific, drove one of four
0.0% 0.4% 18.1% golden spikes uniting the west-bound Union Pacific rail-
road with the Central Pacific, which had been built east-
West Chicago is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United ward from San Francisco.
States. The population was 23,469 at the 2000 census. It Because of the number of trains passing through
was formerly named Turner Junction after its founder, town, water and fuel facilities for locomotives and a
John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago roundhouse were built here, as well as an early eating-
Union Railroad (G&CU) in 1855. The city was initially es- house and hotel for travelers. As a result, a number of
tablished around the first junction of railroad lines in new employees and their families located to this commu-
Illinois,[2] and today is still served by the Union Pacific/ nity. The original settlers were primarily English and Ir-
West Metra service via West Chicago station. ish, with Germans arriving in the 1860s and Mexican im-
migrants by the 1910s.
John B. Turner, president of the G&CU and a resident
Geography of Chicago, owned several acres of land in what is now
West Chicago is located at 41°53′18″N 88°12′35″W / the center of town. As more people settled in Junction,
41.888378°N 88.209659°W / 41.888378; -88.209659Coordi- Turner recognized the chance to make a profit by plat-
nates: 41°53′18″N 88°12′35″W / 41.888378°N 88.209659°W ting his land and selling off lots. He therefore recorded
/ 41.888378; -88.209659.[3] the community’s first plat in 1855 under the name of
Town of Junction.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia West Chicago, Illinois
The community continued its growth, and in 1857 Dr.
Joseph McConnell and his wife Mary platted a second
Economy
portion of town just north of John B. Turner’s plat. They Jel Sert has its corporate headquarters in West Chicago.[7]
recorded their plat as the Town of Turner in honor of the Ball Horticultural Company has its Worldwide Head-
railroad president. These two “towns” became informal- quarters in West Chicago.[8]
ly known as Turner Junction. General Mills has a production facility in West Chica-
By 1873 the community had taken on a substantial go.
and permanent character, so the residents incorporated
as the Village of Turner. In 1888 a new railroad, the Elgin, Top employers
Joliet & Eastern, built a freight line through town. It of- According to the City’s 2009 Comprehensive Annual Fi-
fered free factory sites for any industry willing to locate nancial Report,[9] the top employers in the city are:
along its right-of-way. As part of the effort to attract in-
dustry, the community changed its name in 1896 to the
Village of West Chicago. Area businessmen, particular- Education
ly Charles Bolles, reasoned that the new name sound- The city of West Chicago has two high schools—one pub-
ed more cosmopolitan, and would help draw prospective lic school, West Chicago Community High School, and
factory owners. one private, Wheaton Academy. There are nine elemen-
In 1888, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad laid tracks tary schools (one private, eight public) and two middle
through town and gave away free factory sites along its schools [one being West Chicago Middle School (WCMS)]
right-of-way. As industry located in West Chicago and within the city. The West Chicago Wildcats is the name of
new jobs opened up, the population increased. At the the WCCHS teams.
turn on the century West Chicago was number two in
population in DuPage County, behind Hinsdale. By 1910
the population was 2,378 and several new industries had
Transportation
located here including the Borden’s milk condensing The DuPage Airport is located in the city.[6] Metra has a
plant, the Turner Cabinet Company and the Turner Brick station on the Union Pacific West Line and another is be-
Company. The community continues to attract quality ing planned on the STAR Line on North Av.
business and residential development that contributes to
the culturally diverse community that exists today.
Points of interest
Jel Sert locally produces Wyler’s and FlavorAid in • Kline Creek Farm
West Chicago. • West Chicago City Museum
West Chicago is home to the Truitt-Hoff prairie, one
of the largest and best preserved prairies in the Midwest.
This prairie was discovered by then-mayor Richard
Demographics
Truitt in 1976 during one of his frequent walks in the As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 23,469 people,
open land west of the city. The prairie had been pre- 6,379 households, and 5,230 families residing in the city.
served because it was on railroad right-of-way land that The population density was 1,695.9 people per square
had never been cultivated.[citation needed] mile (654.7/km²). There were 6,567 housing units at an
The movie Reach the Rock, written by John Hughes, average density of 474.5 per square mile (183.2/km²). The
was filmed in downtown West Chicago in 1998. racial makeup of the city was 77.85% White, 1.68%
The city has undergone a massive face-lift since 2001, African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.95% Asian,
especially in the downtown area, the corner of Route 59 0.03% Pacific Islander, 15.11% from other races, and
and Main Street, and Route 59 and North Ave.[citation need- 3.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any
ed] race were 48.60% of the population.
There were 6,379 households out of which 48.3% had
children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.3% were
Government and infrastructure married couples living together, 8.4% had a female
The United States Postal Service operates the West Chica- householder with no husband present, and 18.0% were
go Post Office.[4] non-families. 12.8% of all households were made up of in-
The National Transportation Safety Board operates dividuals and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65
the Chicago Aviation Field Office in West Chicago, on the years of age or older. The average household size was 3.64
grounds of DuPage Airport; it is the regional headquar- and the average family size was 3.91.
ters of the NTSB Aviation Central Region.[5][6] In the city the population was spread out with 31.6%
under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25
to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia West Chicago, Illinois
# Employer # of Employees
1 Jel Sert 1,000
2 West Chicago Elementary School District 632
3 General Mills 510
4 Ball Horticultural Company 434
5 Siemens Energy & Automation 306
6 Aspen Marketing Services 281
7 Buck Services 260
8 Community High School District 94 257
9 OSI Group 230
10 WinCup 212
11 Turtle Splash 200
12 Mapei 190
13 Express Packaging 175
14 Pella 175
15 St. Andrews Golf & Country Club 160
age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/
females there were 114.2 males. For every 100 females gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
age 18 and over, there were 117.0 males. [4] "Post Office Location - WEST CHICAGO." United
The median income for a household in the city was States Postal Service. Retrieved on May 15, 2010.
$63,424, and the median income for a family was $65,744. [5] "Regional Offices: Aviation." National
Males had a median income of $39,723 versus $27,285 for Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved on May 15,
females. The per capita income for the city was $19,287, 2010.
the lowest in DuPage County. About 6.8% of families and [6] ^ "2010 Zoning Map." City of West Chicago.
9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, in- Retrieved on May 15, 2010.
cluding 10.5% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age [7] "Contact Us." Jel Sert. Retrieved on May 15, 2010.
65 or over. [8] "[1]" Ball Horticultural Company
[9] City of West Chicago CAFR
References [10] "American FactFinder". United States Census
Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved
[1] "Census 2000: Detailed 60-Page Demographic 2008-01-31.
Profiles for All Counties, Townships, &
Municipalities in Northeastern Illinois". Chicago
Metropolitan Agency for Planning. March 19, 2004.
External links
http://www.nipc.org/forecasting/ • Official West Chicago Web Site
SF3_Profile_Place/. Retrieved 2008-08-01. • West Chicago Community High School Web Site
[2] Reiff, Janice L.; Ann Durkin Keating; James R. • Encyclopedia of Chicago History
Grossman. "West Chicago, IL". Encyclopedia of • WegoNews, Micro-Gateway for the City of West
Chicago. Chicago History Museum; Newberry Chicago
Library; University of Chicago. • High Lake Homeowners Assoc., Including History of
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/ High Lake and West Chicago Area
pages/1334.html. Retrieved 2010-03-06. • West Chicago Fire Protection District Web Site
[3] "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United
States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Chicago,_Illinois"
Categories: Cities in Illinois, West Chicago, Illinois, Populated places in DuPage County, Illinois, Chicago metropolitan
area
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia West Chicago, Illinois
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