Batavia () 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. Per the 2020 census, the population was 26,098.
During the latter part of the 19th century, Batavia, home to six American-style windmill manufacturing companies, became known as "The Windmill City". 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.[Scheetz, George H.] "Whence Siouxland?" Book Remarks [Sioux City Public Library], May 1991.
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. 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.Blackhawk War 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.
After the death of her husband, Mary Todd Lincoln was an involuntary resident of the Batavia Institute on May 20, 1875. 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. In the late 19th century, Batavia was a major manufacturer of the Conestoga wagons used in the country's westward expansion. 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. 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
Batavia is located on the Fox River.
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Batavia has a total area of , of which (or 98.28%) is land and (or 1.72%) is water.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
+Batavia city, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)21,50422,84021,47990.10%87.69%82.30%Black or African American alone (NH)5406116082.26%2.35%2.33%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1638110.07%0.15%0.04%Asian alone (NH)3194695831.34%1.80%2.23%Pacific Islander alone (NH)1320.00%0.01%0.01%Other race alone (NH)1618770.07%0.07%0.30%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)2132919440.89%1.12%3.62%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,2571,7752,3945.27%6.82%9.17%Total23,86626,04526,098100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Batavia had a population of 26,098 and 9,970 households, of which 6,947 were families. The population density was .
The median age was 41.6 years. 24.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.5 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
Of the 9,970 households, 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 58.9% were married-couple households, 13.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 10,381 housing units at an average density of , of which 4.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 21,982 84.2% Black or African American 646 2.5% American Indian and Alaska Native 63 0.2% Asian 594 2.3% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 5 0.0% Some other race 849 3.3% Two or more races 1,959 7.5% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 2,394 9.2%
Income and poverty
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.Wollam, Allison. "Discount retailers bulk up in Houston as economy stutters." Houston Business Journal. Monday November 28, 2011. Retrieved on December 8, 2011.
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, the top employers in the city are:
# Employer # of employees1Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC.1,7002Suncast Corporation8003Aldi, Inc.7004AGCO Corporation3655Power Packaging3006HOBI International2257VWR Scientific2218Batavia Container1609Flinn Scientific Inc.15010DS 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.
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.
Linda Holmes, Karina Villa, Barbara Hernandez, Matt Hanson, and Maura Hirschauer—all Democrats—represent parts of Batavia in the Illinois General Assembly.
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.
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. 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.
Major streets include: Batavia Avenue (IL-31) Main Street (Route 10) Randall Road Washington Street/River Street (IL-25) Wilson Street
Notable people
Ken Anderson, quarterback with the Cincinnati Bengals; grew up in Batavia Pat Branson, 9th mayor of Kodiak, Alaska 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 writerWhite, James Terry. (1944). The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Volume 31. New York: James T. White & Company. p. 446 Dan Issel, power forward and coach in the Basketball Hall of Fame Mary Todd Lincoln, President Abraham Lincoln's wife; committed by her son to the Bellevue Place psychiatric hospital in Batavia (1875) Samuel D. Lockwood, politician and judge Meredith Mallory, former US Congressman Lyle Oberwise (b.1908 Batavia - 1993), noted photographer John F. Petit, businessman and politician; lived in Batavia'Illinois Blue Book 1937-1938,' Biographical Sketch of John F. Petit, pg. 160-161 Birgit Ridderstedt, folk singer and producer Craig Sager, sportscaster for TNT and TBS; born in Batavia Timothy Schmitz, former Illinois State Legislator; lives in Batavia and was a Batavia Firefighter Isaac Wilson, former US Congressman
See also
List of municipalities in Illinois National Register of Historic Places listings in Kane County, Illinois
References
External links