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St. Charles, Illinois

City of St. Charles
Downtown St. Charles, with the Fox River and Municipal Center/City Hall)
Downtown St. Charles, with the Fox River and Municipal Center/City Hall)
Nickname(s): 
STC (local abbreviation), St. Chuck
Motto(s): 
Pride of the Fox
Location of St. Charles in Kane and DuPage Counties, Illinois
Location of St. Charles in Kane and DuPage Counties, Illinois
Location of Illinois in the United States
Location of Illinois in the United States
Country United States
State Illinois
County Kane
Founded 1834 (as Charleston; changed to St. Charles in 1839)
Area
 • Total 15.01 sq mi (38.87 km2)
 • Land 14.41 sq mi (37.32 km2)
 • Water 0.60 sq mi (1.55 km2)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 33,081
 • Density 2,295.86/sq mi (886.43/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code(s) 630
FIPS code 17-66703

St. Charles is a city in DuPage and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It lies roughly 40 miles (64 km) west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. As of the 2010 census the population was 32,974, and as of 2019 the population had decreased to an estimated 32,887. 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 and Batavia, all western suburbs of similar size and relative socioeconomic condition.

Economy

Top employers

According to St. Charles' 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 St. Charles Community School District 1,742
2 RR Donnelley & Sons 936
3 Omron Automotive 800
4 City of St Charles 300
5 Armour-Eckrich Meats LLC 289
6 Jewel/Osco 270
7 Pheasant Run Resort (has closed) 0
8 Do Paco 191
9 Dukane Corporation 190
10 System Sensor 150

History

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 11 acres of land at 410 South 1st Street in 1901. It employed up to 500 workers and...

"...gave St. Charles an international flavor. Ivory for piano keys came from India and Africa. Wool for the hammers came from Australia. Rich wood veneers were imported from Mexico, South America and the gold coast of Africa. In return, Cable distributed its pianos all over the world and had dealers in Spain, Italy, British East Africa, Japan, Australia and other key foreign places."

The St. Charles factory was closed on Jan. 7, 1937, and 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, Carter's, 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.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1860 1,822
1880 1,533
1890 1,690 10.2%
1900 2,675 58.3%
1910 4,046 51.3%
1920 4,099 1.3%
1930 5,377 31.2%
1940 5,870 9.2%
1950 6,709 14.3%
1960 9,269 38.2%
1970 12,945 39.7%
1980 17,492 35.1%
1990 22,501 28.6%
2000 27,896 24.0%
2010 32,974 18.2%
2020 33,081 0.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

According to the 2000 census, population density was 1,993.9 inhabitants per square mile (769.8/km2). There were 11,072 housing units at an average density of 791.4 per square mile (305.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 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 were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 10,351 households, out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was 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 were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $75,181, and the median income for a family was $94,704. Males had a median income of $55,864 versus $35,134 for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,969. 3.4% of the population and 2.1% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 3.4% of those under the age of 18 and 3.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Education

The public education system in St. Charles is operated by the Community Unit School District 303, which currently has thirteen elementary schools: 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 schools: Thompson and Wredling; and two high schools: 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, Illinois state legislator and lawyer, practiced law in St. Charles.
  • 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; 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
  • Helmut Jahn (1940–2021), architect and member of the postmodern 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)
  • Dellora A. Norris, civic philanthropist
  • David Purcey, left-handed relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox
  • Matt Reynolds, relief pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks
  • Donnie Wahlberg, lives in St. Charles, entertainer
  • Brian Wilson, singer and member of the Beach Boys; lived in St. Charles
  • Chris Witaske, actor
  • Rick Wohlhuter, 1976 800m Olympic bronze medalist; born in St. Charles
  • Randy Wright, former professional football quarterback, born and raised in St. Charles

Images for kids

See also

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