Coordinates: 41°44′59″N 88°09′21″W / 41.749826°N 88.155719°W / 41.749826; -88.155719
Naperville (pronounced /ˈneɪpərvɪl/ ) is a city in DuPage and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, within the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 128,358, and the population was estimated at 147,779 in 2006. Naperville is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago, neighboring Aurora, Rockford, and Joliet. Approximately 100,000 Naperville residents live in DuPage County, while about 50,000 reside in Will County. Naperville was one of the ten fastest growing communities in the United States during the 1990s.
Once a farming town, Naperville has evolved into a wealthy city due in part to a migration of professionals in the 1990s seeking jobs and globally renowned public schools. A number of high-tech companies are located in the city, including Nalco Holding Company, Tellabs, Alcatel-Lucent and the BP North American Chemical Headquarters. In 2008 Fortune ranked Naperville as among the "best places to live and launch" a business in the United States, ranking 29th out of 100. In 2006, Money magazine listed Naperville as #2 on its annual list of America's best small cities to live in. The city took the #3 position on the 2005 and 2008 lists.
History
In July 1831, Joseph Naper arrived at the banks of the DuPage River with his family and friends settled what would be known as "Naper's Settlement". Among those original settlers were Naper's wife Almeda Landon, his brother John and his wife Betsy Goff, his sister Amy and her husband John Murray, and his mother Sarah. Their arrival followed a nearly two-month voyage across three Great Lakes in the Naper brothers' schooner, the Telegraph . Also on that journey were several families who remained in the still raw settlement that would become Chicago, including the family of Dexter Graves who is memorialized in Graceland Cemetery by a well-known Lorado Taft statue.
By 1832, over one hundred settlers had arrived at Naper's Settlement. These settlers were temporarily displaced to Fort Dearborn for protection from an anticipated attack by the Sauk tribe. Fort Payne was built at Naper's Settlement, the settlers returned and the attack never materialized. The Pre-Emption House was constructed in 1834, as the Settlement became a stage-coach stop on the road from Chicago to Galena. Reconstructions of Fort Payne and the Pre-Emption House stand as part of Naper Settlement, which was first established by the Naperville Heritage Society and the Naperville Park District in 1968 to preserve some of the community's oldest buildings.
After DuPage County was split from Cook County in 1839, Naper's Settlement became the DuPage county seat, a distinction it held until 1868. Naper's Settlement was incorporated as the Village of Naperville in 1857, at which time it had a population of 2,000. Reincorporation as a city occurred in 1890. A predominantly rural community for most of its existence, Naperville experienced a population explosion starting in the 1960s, but largely during the 1980s and 1990s following the construction of the East-West Tollway (now known as the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway) and North-South tollways. Since 1990. the city has nearly quadrupled in size as Chicagoland's urban sprawl brought corporations, jobs, and wealth to the area.
Naperville was a sundown town until at least 1970. In 1968, then Mayor Milton Stauffer said: "'There would be some trouble, yes, were a Negro family to move in somewhere in Naperville, but none which couldn't be quickly overcome." Of 23, 835 residents only 43 were African American, and 20 of those residents were live-in servants. In about 1970, the priest of the town’s oldest Catholic Church said that African Americans used to be refused residence in Naperville and were not allowed to stay within its city limits after sunset. As of the 2000 census, Naperville was almost eighty percent white and less than five percent African American.
On April 26, 1946, Naperville was the site of one of the worst train accidents in Chicagoland history. Two Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad trains, the Advance Flyer and the Exposition Flyer , collided 'head to tail' on a single track just west of the Loomis Street grade crossing. The accident killed 47 and injured more than 100 passengers. This event is commemorated in a metal inlay map of Naperville on the southeast corner of Nichols Library's sidewalk area.
Forty Acres once housed Nike Site C-70 in Naperville, Illinois. It has since been divided into an office park and Nike Park, part of the Naperville Park District, with soccer, softball and Little League fields. The site is located at the south-east corner of Mill Street and Diehl Road in northern Naperville.
Naperville marked the 175th anniversary of its 1831 founding in 2006. The anniversary events included a series of celebrations, concerts and a balloon parade.
Geography
Naperville is located at 41°44′59″N 88°9′21″W / 41.74972°N 88.15583°W / 41.74972; -88.15583 (41.749826, -88.156719).
Topography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.5 square miles (92 km 2 ). {{convert|35.4|mi2) of this area is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km 2 ) of it is water.
Downtown Naperville is located within DuPage County, but the city has expanded south into neighboring Will County.
Climate
According to Koppen Climate Classification, Naperville is a DFA climate. Naperville has an annual average of 37.94 inches (964 mm) of precipitation per year. Naperville’s seasonal average temperatures vary drastically, due to its inner position on the continent, an average high temperature in July is 86.8 °F (30.4 °C) and an average temperature in January is 14.2 °F (−9.9 °C). Naperville does see significant amounts of snowfall in the winter often due to the lake-effect snow from Lake Michigan. In the summer, Naperville is often the target of severe storms, the majority occurring because of frontal uplift or mid afternoon convection. However, because of Naperville’s close proximity to lake Michigan, the most severe convective storms are often dismantled by the cool winds originating from Lake Michigan.
Culture
Public Libraries
American Libraries magazine ranked the Naperville Public Library first in the United States for eight straight years, from 1999-2006, for cities with populations between 100,000 and 249,999.
There are three public library locations within city limits.
- The Nichols Library is located in downtown Naperville, at 200 W. Jefferson Street. It has been in this location since 1986. It is a 63,000 square feet (5,900 m 2 ) structure. The previous library building still stands on Washington Street, just south of the YMCA building, at Washington and Van Buren.
- The Naper Boulevard Library was dedicated in December 1992 and underwent internal renovations in 1996. It is located at 2035 S. Naper Boulevard and is the smallest of the three buildings at 32,000 square feet (3,000 m 2 ).
- The 95th Street Library is located near the intersection of 95th Street and Route 59, at 3015 Cedar Glade Drive (just west of Neuqua Valley High School). It is the newest (opened in September 2003) and largest of the three libraries at 73,000 square feet (6,800 m 2 ) and features a modern, curving architectural style.
In May 2005, a local technology company was contracted to install fingerprint scanners as a more convenient access method to the libraries' internet computers, provoking some controversy. After further testing, the technology was not implemented.
The three libraries are used heavily by the public including around one and a half million visitors and a circulation of about four million items yearly.
Tourism
Moser Tower and Millennium Carillon
In 1999, Naperville was designated a White House Millennium Community, due to the construction of the Moser Tower and Millennium Carillon. The tower is located just north of Aurora Avenue and at the base of Rotary Hill within the Riverwalk Park complex. The Millennium Carillon is specially designated as a Grand Carillon,
Official Site of City of Naperville, IL
Forms / Permits / Licenses: Government: Planning / Building / Zoning: Police Department ... p.m. on Monday, December 7 in Lower Level Meeting Rooms A, B and C of the Naperville ...
City of Naperville || Police Department
Police. Naperville Police Department 1350 Aurora Avenue Naperville, IL 60540 (630) 420-6666 Emergencies: Call 911 Contact Us. Naperville’s nationally accredited police department ...
Naperville Sun :: Police Blotter ::
The Naperville Police Department and state of Illinois officials are announcing the kickoff of "Operation Save 100" by encouraging citizens to help save 100 lives and $100 ...
Naperville Crime Stoppers
Naperville Crimestoppers is a civilian, non profit organization that brings together, the Naperville Police Department, the media and the community in the fight against crime.
Official Site of the City of Naperville, IL || Police Department Tours
Police Department Tours. Tours of the Naperville Police Department are conducted at 3 and 4:15 p.m. every Thursday. The tour lasts approximately one hour and advance registration ...
Naperville Police Department
The monthly newsletter of police career opportunities. The inside track on starting and improving your career in law enforcement.
Naperville Police Department
USA Cops: Homepages of Police Departments, Sheriffs' Offices and Other Law Enforcement Agencies throughout the United States
Triblocal - Naperville - Resources / Police ...
Police department. Dial 911 for emergency. Naperville Police Department 1350 Aurora Ave. (630) 420-6666. www.naperville.il.us
Fraternal Order of Police Naperville Illinois Web Site
Lodge 42 represents approximately 150 Officers of the Naperville Police Department. We work to protect, promote and improve the working conditions ...
City of Naperville || Police Department Annual Report
Naperville Police Department Annual Report 2008 Edition. Below you will find the Naperville Police Department's 2008 Annual Report, which highlights the department's many ...