St. Charles is a city in DuPage and Kane counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It lies roughly west of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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 Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and Batavia, all western suburbs of similar size and socioeconomic condition.

History

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 The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

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 Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 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 Charleston is a city in and the county seat of Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,286, as of the 2020 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor, Mattoon, Illinois, Ma ...

, 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 The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

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 Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

but turned down an offer by the

Galena and Chicago Union Railroad The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was the first railroad constructed out of Chicago, intended to provide a shipping route between Chicago and the lead mines near Galena, Illinois. The railroad company was chartered on January 16, 183 ...

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 A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

lines along the Fox River between Elgin and

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

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.

COVID-19 pandemic

On , the Kane County Health Department ordered Smithfield Foods to close its meat processing plant because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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 , of which (or 96.00%) is land and (or 4.00%) is water. The Fox River runs through downtown. Pottawatomie 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 . There were 13,809 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.17%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.75%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.39% Native American, 4.43% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 4.56% from other races, and 7.68% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $50,467. About 1.8% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

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 of land at 410 South 1st Street in 1901. Employing up to 500 workers: On , 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 American Tourister is a brand of luggage owned by Samsonite. Brothers Sol and Irving Koffler founded American Luggage Works in Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipal ...

Carter's Carter's, Inc. is a major American designer and marketer of children's apparel. It was founded in 1865 by William Carter. Carter's sells its products through its own Carter's and OshKosh B'gosh retail stores, its website, and in other retail ...

, 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 A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (secondhand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

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 Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian and American comedian, actor, and writer. Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television ...

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedienne, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona that w ...

, and

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

. 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 The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' 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 Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Independ ...

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 conference site. Originally built as a Catholic Women's Liberal Arts College, St. Dominic College, it later became

Arthur Andersen Arthur Andersen LLP was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corpo ...

's Center for Professional Education. It is now used by

Accenture Accenture plc is a global multinational professional services company originating in the United States and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, that specializes in information technology (IT) services and management consulting. It was founded in 1 ...

, 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.

Government and infrastructure

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. The Chicago & North Western Railway had a branch line to St. Charles. It diverged from the main line at Geneva and closed in 1951. The Chicago Great Western line ran directly through St. Charles and had commuter service until 1906.

Education

The public education system in St. Charles is operated by the Community Unit School District 303, which currently has thirteen

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

: 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 school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

s: Thompson and Wredling; and two

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

s: 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 Robert F. Casey (September 25, 1921 – October 7, 2006) was an American lawyer and politician. Born in Borton, Illinois, Casey moved with his family to Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Hirsch High School. During World War II, Casey served ...

, 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 Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

; 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 Michael E. Heisley (March 13, 1937 – April 26, 2014) was an American businessman and former majority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies. Biography A computer salesman by trade, Heisley used $150,000 from selling his home and $10 million in bank l ...

(1937–2014), businessman and majority owner of the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

. He was a resident of St. Charles at various times in his life and at the time of his death. *

Helmut Jahn Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a German-American architect, known for projects such as the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany; the Messeturm in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Libert ...

(1940–2021), architect and member of the

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

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 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...

) * Dellora A. Norris, civic philanthropist * Tyler Nubin, NFL football player * David Purcey, left-handed relief pitcher for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

* Matt Reynolds, relief pitcher for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

* Matthew Shiltz Quarterback for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

Donnie Wahlberg Donald Edmond Wahlberg Jr. (born August 17, 1969) is an American singer, actor and producer. He is a founding member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Outside music, he has starred in the TV drama series ''Blue Bloods (TV series), Blue Bloo ...

, lives in St. Charles, entertainer *

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

, singer and member of the

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

; lived in St. Charles * Chris Witaske, actor *

Rick Wohlhuter Rick Wohlhuter (born December 23, 1948) is a retired American middle-distance runner. Wohlhuter won the national indoor championship in the 600 yards in 1970. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1971, and later qualified for the 1 ...

, 1976 800m Olympic bronze medalist; born in St. Charles * Randy Wright, former professional football quarterback

In popular culture

* 1980 TV film '' Coach of the Years 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.

References

External links

City of St. Charles official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Charles, Illinois Populated places established in 1834 Cities in DuPage County, Illinois Cities in Kane County, Illinois Cities in Illinois 1834 establishments in Illinois