Batavia, Illinois

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Batavia (Template:IPAc-en) is a city mainly in Kane County and partly in DuPage County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in the Chicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County.<ref name="cityofbatavia.net">Template:Cite web</ref> Per the 2020 census, the population was 26,098.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the latter part of the 19th century, Batavia, home to six American-style windmill manufacturing companies, became known as "The Windmill City".<ref name="cityofbatavia.net"/> Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, a federal government-sponsored high-energy physics laboratory, where both the bottom quark and the top quark were first detected, is located just east of the city limits.

Batavia is part of a vernacular region known as the Tri-City area, along with St. Charles and Geneva, all western suburbs of similar size and relative socioeconomic condition.<ref name="Scheetz">[Scheetz, George H.] "Whence Siouxland?" Book Remarks [Sioux City Public Library], May 1991.</ref>

History

Batavia was settled in 1833 by Christopher Payne and his family. Originally called Big Woods for the wild growth throughout the settlement, the town was renamed by local judge and former Congressman Isaac Wilson in 1840 after his former home of Batavia, New York, which was in turn named after the Batavian Republic, a short-lived republic that existed from 1795 to 1806 in the present-day Netherlands.<ref name="callery">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> Because Judge Wilson owned the majority of the town, he was given permission to rename it.

Batavia's settlement was delayed one year by the Black Hawk War, in which Abraham Lincoln was a citizen soldier, and Zachary Taylor and Jefferson Davis were Army officers.<ref>Blackhawk War</ref> Although there is no direct evidence that Lincoln, Taylor, or Davis visited the future site of Batavia, there are writings by Lincoln that refer to "Head of the Big Woods", Batavia's original name. The city was incorporated on July 27, 1872.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After the death of her husband, Mary Todd Lincoln was an involuntary resident of the Batavia Institute on May 20, 1875.<ref name=madness>Template:Cite journal</ref> At the time the institute was known as Bellevue Place, a sanitarium for women. Mrs. Lincoln was released four months later on September 11, 1875.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the late 19th century, Batavia was a major manufacturer of the Conestoga wagons used in the country's westward expansion.<ref name="gustafson">Template:Cite book</ref> Into the early 20th century, most of the windmill operated water pumps in use by America's farms were made at one of three windmill manufacturing companies in Batavia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many of the limestone buildings of these factories remain in use as government and commercial offices, and storefronts. The Aurora Elgin and Chicago Railway constructed a power plant in southern Batavia and added a branch to the city in 1902. The Campana Factory was built in 1936 to manufacture cosmetics for The Campana Company, particularly Italian Balm, the nation's best-selling hand lotion at the time.

Geography

File:Fox River in Batavia IL 2016 (2).jpg

The Fox River has been of central significance to settlement and life in Batavia.

Batavia is located on the Fox River at Template:Coord (41.8488583, −88.3084400).<ref name="gnis">Template:Gnis</ref>

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Batavia has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (or 98.28%) is land and Template:Convert (or 1.72%) is water.<ref name="gaz2021">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Fox River in Batavia.jpg

The Peace Bridge on the Fox River in Downtown Batavia

Demographics

Template:US Census population

**Batavia city, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	21,504	22,840	21,479	90.10%	87.69%	82.30%
Black or African American alone (NH)	540	611	608	2.26%	2.35%	2.33%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	16	38	11	0.07%	0.15%	0.04%
Asian alone (NH)	319	469	583	1.34%	1.80%	2.23%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	1	3	2	0.00%	0.01%	0.01%
Other race alone (NH)	16	18	77	0.07%	0.07%	0.30%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	213	291	944	0.89%	1.12%	3.62%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	1,257	1,775	2,394	5.27%	6.82%	9.17%
Total	23,866	26,045	26,098	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> there were 26,098 people, 9,728 households, and 6,947 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 10,381 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.

The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 2.48% African American, 0.24% Native American, 2.28% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.25% from other races, and 7.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.17% of the population.

There were 9,728 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.70% were married couples living together, 6.31% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.59% were non-families. 23.97% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.52% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.29 and the average family size was 2.71.

The city's age distribution consisted of 26.3% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $97,995, and the median income for a family was $123,247. Males had a median income of $69,895 versus $39,602 for females. The per capita income for the city was $46,134. About 3.6% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Aldi, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Aldi Süd, has its headquarters in Batavia.<ref>Wollam, Allison. "Discount retailers bulk up in Houston as economy stutters." Houston Business Journal. Monday November 28, 2011. Retrieved on December 8, 2011.</ref>

Fermilab is located just outside the town borders and serves as employment for many of the town's residents.

According to the city's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the top employers in the city are:

#	Employer	# of employees
1	Fermi Research Alliance	1,700
2	Suncast Corporation	800
3	Aldi, Inc.	700
4	AGCO Corporation	365
5	Power Packaging	300
6	HOBI International	225
7	VWR Scientific	221
8	Batavia Container	160
9	Flinn Scientific Inc.	150
10	DS Containers, Inc.	140

Arts and culture

Batavia is served by Batavia Public Library District, which was founded in April 1881 as a township library; the first Board of Library Trustees was elected in April 1882. It converted to a district library in June 1975. The library serves most of Batavia Township, Kane County, Illinois and portions of Winfield Township, DuPage County, Illinois, Geneva Township, Kane County, Illinois, and Blackberry Township, Kane County, Illinois. Its current facility opened in January 2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Government

Batavia is a part of Illinois' 11th Congressional District, represented by Democrat Bill Foster. From 2013 to 2023, it was part of the 14th Congressional District, which was represented by Randy Hultgren and later Lauren Underwood.

File:Jeffery Schielke 2016.jpg

Mayor Schielke in 2016 (receiving a song about Batavia by local composer Birgit Ridderstedt)

Linda Holmes, Karina Villa, Barbara Hernandez, Matt Hanson, and Maura Hirschauer—all Democrats—represent parts of Batavia in the Illinois General Assembly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Batavia is governed by a 14-member city council. There are seven wards in the city, and each ward elects two aldermen. The mayor chairs the city council and is elected citywide every four years.

Jeffery Schielke has been Mayor of Batavia since 1981.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

Batavia is served by Batavia Public School District No. 101. The district currently consists of six K–5 elementary schools, one 6–8 middle school, and Batavia High School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Small pockets of the city are served by Geneva Community Unit School District 304 and West Aurora Public School District 129.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Some bus transportation is serviced by Pace. The Geneva and Aurora Metra train stations are nearby. Paths for biking and walking exist along the Fox River. The Chicago & North Western Aurora Branch and the Burlington Route West Chicago line directly served Batavia until 1943.

Batavia is considered car-dependent and somewhat bikeable.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Major streets include:

Notable people

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Ken Anderson, quarterback with the Cincinnati Bengals; grew up in Batavia<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Steve Bernal, soccer player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Charlie Briggs, second baseman with the Chicago Browns
Bernard J. Cigrand, father of Flag Day; lived in Batavia
Jackie DeShannon, 1960s singer-songwriter; attended Batavia High School
J. W. Eddy, 19th-century politician, lawyer and railway engineer, acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln; lived in Batavia
Bill Foster, U.S. Congressman; lived in Batavia and worked at Fermilab
Winfield S. Hall, physiologist and writer<ref>White, James Terry. (1944). The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Volume 31. New York: James T. White & Company. p. 446</ref>
Dan Issel, power forward and coach in the Basketball Hall of Fame<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Mary Todd Lincoln, President Abraham Lincoln's wife; committed by her son to the Bellevue Place psychiatric hospital in Batavia (1875)<ref name=madness />
Samuel D. Lockwood, politician and judge
Meredith Mallory, former US Congressman
Lyle Oberwise (b.1908 Batavia - 1993), noted photographer<ref name="mchs">Template:Cite web</ref>
John F. Petit, businessman and politician; lived in Batavia<ref>'Illinois Blue Book 1937-1938,' Biographical Sketch of John F. Petit, pg. 160-161</ref>
Birgit Ridderstedt, folk singer and producer
Craig Sager, sportscaster for TNT and TBS; born in Batavia<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Isaac Wilson, former US Congressman
Timothy Schmitz, former Illinois State Legislator; lives in Batavia and was a Batavia Firefighter