La Fox, Illinois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
La Fox, Illinois
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A Union Pacific Railroad freight train rolls past the La Fox depot and the Potter & Barker grain elevator on June 12, 2011.
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 La Fox, Illinois
Location in Illinois
La Fox, Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Kane |
| Township | Blackberry |
| Elevation | 804 ft (245 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
60147
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| Area code(s) | 630 |
| GNIS feature ID | 411636 |
La Fox is a small, quiet place in Illinois, United States. It's not a city or a town with its own government. Instead, it's an unincorporated community. This means it's part of a larger area called Blackberry Township in Kane County.
You can find La Fox about four miles west of Geneva. It is also five miles east of Elburn. La Fox even has its own train station. This station is part of Metra's Union Pacific West Line, which helps people travel.
Contents
History of La Fox
La Fox started around the year 1859. It grew up along the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company railroad. The railroad tracks were first built through this area in 1854.
At first, the community was called "Kane Station." But then, the post office from nearby Geneva moved to this spot. So, the community was renamed "La Fox." In 1931, the main railroad line was moved to West Chicago.
Protecting La Fox's Past
In 1994, Kane County decided to protect the old buildings in La Fox. They made twenty-five properties a "preservation district." This special name means the area meets certain historical rules. La Fox is seen as a nearly untouched old crossroads town from the 1800s.
To show how little it has changed, between 1931 and 2000, only eight new buildings were built in La Fox.
Efforts to Become a Town
Even with its quiet history, a company wanted to build a large new neighborhood in 2001. This development would have been close to the historic area. To have more control over their future, people living in La Fox tried to make it an official town.
Patricia Reid Lindner, a lawmaker, suggested a bill to let people vote on this idea. Similar efforts were happening in nearby places like Virgil, Lily Lake, and Big Rock. The company that wanted to build the new neighborhood strongly opposed this bill. They worked hard to stop it. The bill was voted down in the Illinois House of Representatives.
However, the large development never happened. This was because of the collapse of the housing market at that time.
Historic Grain Elevator
The Potter and Barker Grain Elevator is an important building in La Fox. It was built in 1868. This old building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was the 73rd building in Kane County to get this special recognition.
