Saint Charles, Illinois

St. Charles is a city located in Kane and DuPage counties of Illinois, and is roughly an hour's drive (40 miles) west of Chicago. As of the 2002 census, the city had a total population of 42,051. The official city slogan is Pride of the Fox, after the Fox River that runs through the center of town.

Table of contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 External Links

History

After the Black Hawk War in 1832 opened the Fox River valley to white settlers, Evan Shelby and William Franklin staked the first claim in what is now St. Charles in 1833. They came back in the following year of 1834 with their families from Indiana, and were joined by over a dozen other families in that year. The township was initially known as Charleston, but this name was already taken by the city of Charleston, Illinois so the name of Saint Charles (suggested by S. S. Jones, a lawyer) was adopted in 1839.

Several "stations" of the slavery-era Underground Railroad were in St. Charles homes, complete with tunnels and false doorways; there was also an open abolitionist group called the Kane County Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1842, with about 180 members.

Selected census results for St. Charles over time are:

• 1850: 2,132
• 1860: 1,822
• 1880: 1,533
• 1890: 1,690
• 1900: 2,675
• 1910: 4,046
• 1920: 4,099
• 1930: 5,377
• 1940: 5,870
• 1950: 6,709
• 1960: 9,269
• 2000: 27,896
• 2002: 42,051

Source: John Clayton, The Illinois Fact Book and Historical Almanac, 1673-1968 (S. Ill. Univ. Press: Carbondale IL, 1970), p. 39-44. Also US Census, 2000 and 2002.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.6 km² (14.1 mi²). 36.2 km² (14.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.13% water.

Demographics As of the census of 2002, there are 42,051 people and 14,861 households residing in the city, with a median age of 36 and an average of 2.92 persons per household.

The following data is from the 2000 census:

The population density is 769.9/km² (1,993.9/mi²). There are 11,072 housing units at an average density of 305.6 persons/km² (791.4 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 93.81% White, 1.66% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.79% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.66% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 5.50% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 10,351 households out of which 36.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% are married couples living together, 8.0% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 28.3% are non-families. 23.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.62 and the average family size is 3.13.

In the city the population is spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 94.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $69,424, and the median income for a family is $82,828. Males have a median income of $55,864 versus $35,134 for females. The per capita income for the city is $33,969. 3.4% of the population and 2.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 3.4% are under the age of 18 and 3.9% are 65 or older.

External Links

• The home page for the city of Saint Charles is: http://www.ci.st-charles.il.us/
• St. Charles community web site: http://www.st-charles.il.us/ ...including an extensive history: http://www.st-charles.il.us/historypage.htm
• Another St. Charles historical page: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ilkane/St.Charles_1.htm