West Chicago, Illinois
Encyclopedia
West Chicago is a city in DuPage County
, Illinois
, United States
. The population was 23,469 at the 2000 census. It was formerly named Turner Junction after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad
(G&CU) in 1855. The city was initially established around the first junction of railroad lines in Illinois, and today is still served by the Metra
service via West Chicago station
.
According the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 13.8 square miles (35.7 km²), all of it land.
In 1849, with the Galena and Chicago Union railroad reached the site of present day West Chicago, where America's first railroad junction point west of Chicago was created by a second railroad, the Chicago, Fulton and Iowa, heading west through Geneva, with the G&CU heading northwest to St. Charles, Illinois and points west. The Building of the railroad was enabled by $350,000 raised by William Butler Ogden, Chicago's first mayor and a major player in the Transcontinental railroad, which was finished in 1869, near Promontory Summit Utah. Ogden, as president of the Union Pacific, drove one of four golden spikes uniting the west-bound Union Pacific railroad with the Central Pacific, which had been built eastward from San Francisco.
Because of the number of trains passing through town, water and fuel facilities for locomotives and a roundhouse were built here, as well as an early eating-house and hotel for travelers. As a result, a number of new employees and their families located to this community. The original settlers were primarily English and Irish, with Germans arriving in the 1860s and Mexican immigrants by the 1910s.
John B. Turner, president of the G&CU and a resident of Chicago, owned several acres of land in what is now the center of town. As more people settled in Junction, Turner recognized the chance to make a profit by platting his land and selling off lots. He therefore recorded the community’s first plat in 1855 under the name of Town of Junction.
The community continued its growth, and in 1857 Dr. Joseph McConnell and his wife Mary platted a second portion of town just north of John B. Turner’s plat. They recorded their plat as the Town of Turner in honor of the railroad president. These two “towns” became informally known as Turner Junction.
By 1873, the community had taken on a substantial and permanent character, so the residents incorporated as the Village of Turner. In 1888 a new railroad, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, built a freight line through town. It offered free factory sites for any industry willing to locate along its right-of-way. As part of the effort to attract industry, the community changed its name in 1896 to the Village of West Chicago. Area businessmen, particularly Charles Bolles, reasoned that the new name sounded more cosmopolitan, and would help draw prospective factory owners.
In 1888, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad laid tracks through town and gave away free factory sites along its right-of-way. As industry located in West Chicago and new jobs opened up, the population increased. At the 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 located here including the Borden’s milk condensing plant, the Turner Cabinet Company and the Turner Brick Company. The community continues to attract quality business and residential development that contributes to the culturally diverse community that exists today.
Jel Sert
locally produces Wyler's and FlavorAid in West Chicago.
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 Truitt in 1976 during one of his frequent walks in the open land west of the city. The prairie had been preserved because it was on railroad right-of-way land that had never been cultivated.
The movie Reach the Rock
, written by John Hughes, was filmed in downtown West Chicago in 1998.
The city has undergone a massive face-lift since 2001, especially in the downtown area, the corner of Route 59 and Main Street, and Route 59 and North Ave.
operates the West Chicago Post Office.
The National Transportation Safety Board
operates the Chicago Aviation Field Office in West Chicago, on the grounds of DuPage Airport
; it is the regional headquarters of the NTSB Aviation Central Region.
has its corporate headquarters in West Chicago.
Ball Horticultural Company has its Worldwide Headquarters in West Chicago.
General Mills
has a production facility in West Chicago.
. There are nine elementary schools (one private, eight public) and two middle schools [one being West Chicago Middle School (WCMS)] within the city. The West Chicago Wildcats is the name of the WCCHS teams.
is located in the city. Metra has a station on the Union Pacific West Line and another is being planned on the STAR Line on North Av.
of 2000, there were 23,469 people, 6,379 households, and 5,230 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,695.9 people per square mile (654.7/km²). There were 6,567 housing units at an average density of 474.5 per square mile (183.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.85% White, 1.68% African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.95% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 15.11% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any 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 married couples
living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.0% were non-families. 12.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.64 and the average family size was 3.91.
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 age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 114.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $63,424, and the median income for a family was $65,744. Males had a median income of $39,723 versus $27,285 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $19,287, the lowest in DuPage County. About 6.8% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
DuPage County, Illinois
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 23,469 at the 2000 census. It was formerly named Turner Junction after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad
Galena and Chicago Union Railroad
The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was a railroad running west from Chicago to Clinton, Iowa and Freeport, Illinois, never reaching Galena, Illinois...
(G&CU) in 1855. The city was initially established around the first junction of railroad lines in Illinois, and today is still served by the Metra
Metra
Metra is the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority. The system serves Chicago and its metropolitan area through 240 stations on 11 different rail lines. Throughout the 21st century, Metra has been the second busiest commuter rail system in the United States by...
service via West Chicago station
West Chicago (Metra)
West Chicago is a station on Metra's Union Pacific/West Line, located in West Chicago, Illinois. The station is away from Ogilvie Transportation Center, the eastern terminus of the West Line. In Metra's zone-based fare system, West Chicago is in zone F....
.
Geography
West Chicago is located at 41.888378°N 88.209659°W.According the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 13.8 square miles (35.7 km²), all of it land.
History
The most notable early settler in the area was Erastus Gary, of Pomfort Conn., who homesteaded 760 acres on the banks of the DuPage River just south of West Chicago's present day city limits in the 1830's. Gary was the father of "Judge" Elbert Gary, for whom Gary, Indiana is named, and who was the first CEO of America's first billion-dollar corporation, US Steel. Gary was also instrumental in bringing brothers Jesse and Warren Wheaton, founders of nearby Wheaton, Illinois, the Dupage County seat, from Connecticut to the Midwest. A pioneer cemetery on the old Gary Homestead, where a sawmill had been built by the Garys, just north of Gary's Mill Road, and north of its terminus at Il. State route 59, was bulldozed and built over for apartment buildings during the administration of mayor John Downs in the 1960's.In 1849, with the Galena and Chicago Union railroad reached the site of present day West Chicago, where America's first railroad junction point west of Chicago was created by a second railroad, the Chicago, Fulton and Iowa, heading west through Geneva, with the G&CU heading northwest to St. Charles, Illinois and points west. The Building of the railroad was enabled by $350,000 raised by William Butler Ogden, Chicago's first mayor and a major player in the Transcontinental railroad, which was finished in 1869, near Promontory Summit Utah. Ogden, as president of the Union Pacific, drove one of four golden spikes uniting the west-bound Union Pacific railroad with the Central Pacific, which had been built eastward from San Francisco.
Because of the number of trains passing through town, water and fuel facilities for locomotives and a roundhouse were built here, as well as an early eating-house and hotel for travelers. As a result, a number of new employees and their families located to this community. The original settlers were primarily English and Irish, with Germans arriving in the 1860s and Mexican immigrants by the 1910s.
John B. Turner, president of the G&CU and a resident of Chicago, owned several acres of land in what is now the center of town. As more people settled in Junction, Turner recognized the chance to make a profit by platting his land and selling off lots. He therefore recorded the community’s first plat in 1855 under the name of Town of Junction.
The community continued its growth, and in 1857 Dr. Joseph McConnell and his wife Mary platted a second portion of town just north of John B. Turner’s plat. They recorded their plat as the Town of Turner in honor of the railroad president. These two “towns” became informally known as Turner Junction.
By 1873, the community had taken on a substantial and permanent character, so the residents incorporated as the Village of Turner. In 1888 a new railroad, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern, built a freight line through town. It offered free factory sites for any industry willing to locate along its right-of-way. As part of the effort to attract industry, the community changed its name in 1896 to the Village of West Chicago. Area businessmen, particularly Charles Bolles, reasoned that the new name sounded more cosmopolitan, and would help draw prospective factory owners.
In 1888, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad laid tracks through town and gave away free factory sites along its right-of-way. As industry located in West Chicago and new jobs opened up, the population increased. At the 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 located here including the Borden’s milk condensing plant, the Turner Cabinet Company and the Turner Brick Company. The community continues to attract quality business and residential development that contributes to the culturally diverse community that exists today.
Jel Sert
Jel Sert
The Jel Sert Company is a privately held company based in West Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1926, its primary products are snack foods and beverages.-History and products:...
locally produces Wyler's and FlavorAid in West Chicago.
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 Truitt in 1976 during one of his frequent walks in the open land west of the city. The prairie had been preserved because it was on railroad right-of-way land that had never been cultivated.
The movie Reach the Rock
Reach the Rock
Reach the Rock is a 1998 film directed by William Ryan.-Plot:A small town troublemaker , directionless and alienated, ends up spending a night in a jail cell, where he and the police chief engage in a battle of wills and wit.The soundtrack featured a compilation of Chicago-based Post-Rock artists,...
, written by John Hughes, was filmed in downtown West Chicago in 1998.
The city has undergone a massive face-lift since 2001, especially in the downtown area, the corner of Route 59 and Main Street, and Route 59 and North Ave.
Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates the West Chicago Post Office.
The National Transportation Safety Board
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
operates the Chicago Aviation Field Office in West Chicago, on the grounds of DuPage Airport
DuPage Airport
DuPage Airport is a general aviation airport located west of downtown Chicago in West Chicago, DuPage County, Illinois. It is owned and operated by the DuPage Airport Authority, which is an independent government body established by law by the State of Illinois...
; it is the regional headquarters of the NTSB Aviation Central Region.
Economy
Jel SertJel Sert
The Jel Sert Company is a privately held company based in West Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1926, its primary products are snack foods and beverages.-History and products:...
has its corporate headquarters in West Chicago.
Ball Horticultural Company has its Worldwide Headquarters in West Chicago.
General Mills
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
has a production facility in West Chicago.
Top employers
According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jel Sert Jel Sert The Jel Sert Company is a privately held company based in West Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1926, its primary products are snack foods and beverages.-History and products:... |
1,000 |
| 2 | West Chicago Elementary School District | 632 |
| 3 | General Mills General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green... |
510 |
| 4 | Ball Horticultural Company | 434 |
| 5 | Siemens Siemens Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG... Energy & Automation |
306 |
| 6 | Aspen Marketing Services Aspen Marketing Services Aspen Marketing Services is a privately-held marketing services agency in the United States. Aspen Marketing is headquartered in West Chicago, IL, with offices in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Dallas, New York City, Phoenix, Morristown, NJ, Rosemont, IL and Tampa and has more than 640 employees... |
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 Mapei MAPEI is an Italian company founded in 1937 by Rodolfo Squinzi in Milan, Italy. It evolved from a small wall paint producer into a worldwide producer of adhesives, thinsets and sealants for buildings .... |
190 |
| 13 | Express Packaging | 175 |
| 14 | Pella Pella (company) Pella Corporation is a privately held window and door manufacturing company with manufacturing operations across the United States, whose products for residential and commercial construction are sold across North America and in other select countries. The company was founded in 1925... |
175 |
| 15 | St. Andrews Golf & Country Club | 160 |
Education
The city of West Chicago has two high schools—one public school, West Chicago Community High School, and one private, Wheaton AcademyWheaton Academy
Wheaton Academy is a private, non-denominational Christian high school, that is known for being an educational institution committed to the evangelical Christian faith...
. There are nine elementary schools (one private, eight public) and two middle schools [one being West Chicago Middle School (WCMS)] within the city. The West Chicago Wildcats is the name of the WCCHS teams.
Transportation
The DuPage AirportDuPage Airport
DuPage Airport is a general aviation airport located west of downtown Chicago in West Chicago, DuPage County, Illinois. It is owned and operated by the DuPage Airport Authority, which is an independent government body established by law by the State of Illinois...
is located in the city. Metra has a station on the Union Pacific West Line and another is being planned on the STAR Line on North Av.
Points of interest
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 23,469 people, 6,379 households, and 5,230 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,695.9 people per square mile (654.7/km²). There were 6,567 housing units at an average density of 474.5 per square mile (183.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.85% White, 1.68% African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.95% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 15.11% from other races, and 3.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any 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 married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.0% were non-families. 12.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.64 and the average family size was 3.91.
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 age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 114.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $63,424, and the median income for a family was $65,744. Males had a median income of $39,723 versus $27,285 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $19,287, the lowest in DuPage County. About 6.8% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.