Batavia, Illinois | |
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 Flag | |
| Nicknames: The Windmill City, City of Energy[1] | |
| Motto(s): "Where Tradition and Vision Meet"[2] | |
 Location of Batavia in Kane and DuPage Counties within Illinois. | |
.svg) Location of Illinois in the United States | |
| Coordinates:41°50′56″N88°18′30″W / 41.84889°N 88.30833°W /41.84889; -88.30833 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| Counties | Kane,DuPage |
| Townships | Aurora (Kane),Batavia (Kane),Blackberry (Kane),Geneva (Kane),Winfield (DuPage) |
| Settled | 1833 |
| Incorporated | July 27, 1872 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–manager |
| • Mayor | Jeff Schielke(I) |
| Area | |
• Total | 10.84 sq mi (28.06 km2) |
| • Land | 10.65 sq mi (27.58 km2) |
| • Water | 0.19 sq mi (0.48 km2) |
| Elevation | 666 ft (203 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 26,098 |
| • Density | 2,450.52/sq mi (946.15/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 60510 and 60539 |
| Area codes | 630 and 331 |
| FIPS code | 17-04078 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2394077 |
| Wikimedia Commons | Batavia, Illinois |
| Website | bataviail.gov |
Batavia (/bəˈteɪviə/) is a city mainly inKane County and partly inDuPage County in theU.S. state ofIllinois. Located in theChicago metropolitan area, it was founded in 1833 and is the oldest city in Kane County.[4] Per the2020 census, the population was 26,098.[5]
During the latter part of the 19th century, Batavia, home to six American-stylewindmill manufacturing companies, became known as "The Windmill City".[4]Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, a federal government-sponsored high-energy physics laboratory, where both thebottom quark and thetop quark were first detected, is located just east of the city limits.
Batavia is part of avernacular region known as theTri-City area, along withSt. Charles andGeneva, all western suburbs of similar size and relative socioeconomic condition.[6]
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 CongressmanIsaac Wilson in 1840 after his former home ofBatavia, New York, which was in turn named after theBatavian Republic, a short-lived republic that existed from 1795 to 1806 in the present-dayNetherlands.[7][8] Because Judge Wilson owned the majority of the town, he was given permission to rename it.
Batavia's settlement was delayed one year by theBlack Hawk War, in whichAbraham Lincoln was a citizen soldier, andZachary Taylor andJefferson Davis were Army officers.[9] 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.[10]
After the death of her husband,Mary Todd Lincoln was an involuntary resident of theBatavia Institute on May 20, 1875.[11] 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.[12] In the late 19th century, Batavia was a major manufacturer of theConestoga wagons used in the country's westward expansion.[13] 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.[14][15] Many of the limestone buildings of these factories remain in use as government and commercial offices, and storefronts. TheAurora Elgin and Chicago Railway constructed a power plant in southern Batavia and added a branch to the city in 1902. TheCampana Factory was built in 1936 to manufacture cosmetics forThe Campana Company, particularly Italian Balm, the nation's best-selling handlotion at the time.
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Batavia is located on theFox River at41°50′56″N88°18′30″W / 41.84889°N 88.30833°W /41.84889; -88.30833 (41.8488583, −88.3084400).[16]
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Batavia has a total area of 10.84 square miles (28.08 km2), of which 10.65 square miles (27.58 km2) (or 98.28%) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.49 km2) (or 1.72%) is water.[17]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 1,622 | — | |
| 1880 | 2,639 | — | |
| 1890 | 3,543 | 34.3% | |
| 1900 | 3,871 | 9.3% | |
| 1910 | 4,436 | 14.6% | |
| 1920 | 4,395 | −0.9% | |
| 1930 | 5,045 | 14.8% | |
| 1940 | 5,101 | 1.1% | |
| 1950 | 5,838 | 14.4% | |
| 1960 | 7,496 | 28.4% | |
| 1970 | 9,060 | 20.9% | |
| 1980 | 12,574 | 38.8% | |
| 1990 | 17,076 | 35.8% | |
| 2000 | 23,866 | 39.8% | |
| 2010 | 26,045 | 9.1% | |
| 2020 | 26,098 | 0.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[18] 2010[19] 2020[20] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[21] | Pop 2010[19] | Pop 2020[20] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 orAlaska 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 the2020 census[22] there were 26,098 people, 9,728 households, and 6,947 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,408.45 inhabitants per square mile (929.91/km2). There were 10,381 housing units at an average density of 958.01 per square mile (369.89/km2).
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% fromother races, and 7.51% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino 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. Theper capita income for the city was $46,134. About 3.6% of families and 5.9% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.
Aldi, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary ofAldi Süd, has its headquarters in Batavia.[23]
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,[24] 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 |
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 ofBatavia Township, Kane County, Illinois and portions ofWinfield Township, DuPage County, Illinois,Geneva Township, Kane County, Illinois, andBlackberry Township, Kane County, Illinois. Its current facility opened in January 2002.[25]
Batavia is a part of Illinois'11th Congressional District, represented byDemocratBill Foster. From 2013 to 2023, it was part of the14th Congressional District, which was represented byRandy Hultgren and laterLauren Underwood.
Linda Holmes,Karina Villa,Barbara Hernandez,Matt Hanson, andMaura Hirschauer—all Democrats—represent parts of Batavia in theIllinois General Assembly.[26]
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.[27]
Batavia is served byBatavia Public School District No. 101. The district currently consists of six K–5 elementary schools, one 6–8 middle school, andBatavia High School.[28] Small pockets of the city are served by Geneva Community Unit School District 304 and West Aurora Public School District 129.
Some bus transportation is serviced byPace. The Geneva andAuroraMetra 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 consideredcar-dependent and somewhat bikeable.[29]
Major streets include:
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Municipalities and communities ofDuPage County, Illinois,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Villages | ||
| Townships | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns/Neighborhoods | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Municipalities and communities ofKane County, Illinois,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Villages | ||
| Townships | ||
| CDP | ||
| Other unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
Places adjacent to Batavia, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||
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