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    Naperville
    Naperville
    Naperville
    Ebook175 pages42 minutes

    Naperville

    By Jo Fredell Higgins

    2.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Naperville is a quintessential American city, where many cultures blend together in harmony. Founded in 1831 by Capt. Joseph Naper and incorporated in 1857, the city has progressed from rural farmland to a robust commercial economy. In 1860, kerosene lamps and one wooden bridge were surrounded by the sounds of prairie fowl and croaking frogs. In 1960, the population exploded. Now, 21 languages are spoken in the community, and the meandering downtown Naperville Riverwalk offers bucolic serenity to those strolling along the Century Walk artwork. Naperville has two partner Sister Cities that strengthen culture and business: Nitra, Slovakia (as of 1993), and Pátzcuaro, Mexico (as of 2010). The city comes alive thanks to its people and families, organizations, leaders, and events. It is filled with a rich culture that values the history of yesterday while looking forward to tomorrow's joys. Naperville is simply outstanding in every manner and mode of living.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateOct 3, 2016
    ISBN9781439657737
    Naperville
    Author

    Jo Fredell Higgins

    Jo Fredell Higgins has written two previous books for Arcadia's Images of America Series-Naperville, Illinois in 2001 and Geneva, Illinois in 2002. She is an internationally-published and award-winning writer, as well as a community leader who serves on five boards of directors.

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      Book preview

      Naperville - Jo Fredell Higgins

      Yeates.

      INTRODUCTION

      History is the ship carrying living memories into the future.

      —Stephen Spender

      In 1960, Mayor William Zaininger and city council members doubled the area of Naperville. Over 1,500 acres were annexed. The population numbered 12,933. By 1965, a total of 18,734 residents were attending one of the 23 churches in the city, where homes sold for $31,000. A referendum was held in 1966, and the Naperville Park District was formed. Milton Stauffer became mayor in 1967 and saw Standard Oil–Amoco move to Naperville. The College of DuPage opened. Naperville, despite the turbulence of the 1960s, still embodied the American Dream.

      Naperville’s population of 22,617 residents in 1970 was undaunted. There was one two-lane north-south thoroughfare—Ogden Avenue. The old wooden Columbia Street bridge was replaced, and industrial parks and corporate centers sprang up. Mortgage rates would rise to 16 percent plus for the 5,000 new single-family homeowners sprawled over 22 square miles by 1980. The city’s boundaries reached Warrenville, Lisle, Bolingbrook, and Aurora on all four points of the compass. Even with the revitalization of the downtown business district, Naperville continued to preserve the feeling of hometown America, welcoming newcomers from all over the globe who came to the area to find work and raise families.

      Naperville was settled in 1831, incorporated as a village in 1857, and became a city in 1890. It is DuPage County’s oldest community. The city has seen four major economic transitions, existing as a center for agricultural production, a small-scale industrial center, a commuter suburb, and a center for research and technology. Railway service into Chicago and the construction of the East-West Tollway meant the seeds of change would help to grow Naperville into a financial and cultural metropolis. The region has 262 municipalities, and the narrative of Naperville encapsulates the diverse quality of achievements among its citizens.

      This highly desirable and unique community began celebrating its 150th anniversary in October 1980. The Sesquicentennial Follies presented more than 200 acts in a variety production that raised money for the year-long celebration. In May 1981, the annual Memorial Day parade saw more than 5,000 local youth marching in honor of Naperville’s birthday. The parade lasted three hours and had 100,000 spectators. There were lawn parties, concerts by the Naperville Municipal Band, Fourth of July fireworks, a Centennial Beach Water Show, and the annual Last Fling over Labor Day weekend, which included the formal dedication of the first phase of the Naperville Riverwalk. While honoring its past, the city’s 1981 commemoration events also told of ambitious plans for its future prosperity.

      Naperville’s morning still sees the sun rise from the east, and each morning hour has gold in its mouth. Prosperity and planned growth has established the city as a neighborly, friendly community that values its history and treasures its future. Brilliant minds and willing hearts and hands have transformed the prairie into this paradise known as Naperville.

      One

      A SOCIETY OF

      RICH HERITAGE

      Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.

      —Omar Khayyam

      This horse-and-buggy parade float is shown during the city’s sesquicentennial events held in 1981. One prominent resident was Lester Schrader (1907–1984), who grew up in Naperville and sought to preserve the city’s history with his paintings. In 1987, the Naperville Heritage Society purchased the complete collection of his 42 paintings for permanent display at Naper Settlement. (Courtesy of Rev. Cyndi Gavin and Tim Burke.)

      The autumn leaves made a susurrous sound as they fell. In 1981, the city was celebrating its sesquicentennial with great aplomb. Shown in the June 6 parade is the Amoco Research Center wagon. Amoco, part of the economic center along the Illinois Research and Development Corridor, had over 1,000 employees. (Courtesy of Rev. Cyndi Gavin and Tim Burke.)

      Pictured is a re-creation of Revolutionary War soldiers during the sesquicentennial celebration. It has been noted that memorials are a way one makes promises to the future about the past. (Courtesy of Rev. Cyndi Gavin and Tim Burke.)

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