Batavia,
IL
Population: 22,000
Batavia is located about 35 miles west of
Chicago,
IL in
Kane County. The
Fox River runs directly through the town, which is bordered by
Geneva on the
north and
Aurora on the
south.
Batavia was originally founded in 1833 by a settler named Christopher Payne. He had travelled to the area and staked a claim named "Head of
Big Woods". This name was later changed to Batavia by Judge Issac Wilson after his hometown of
Batavia,
NY.
The nickname "
Windmill City" came from 3 large windmill factories that were located in the area. By 1890, Batavia was recognized
around the world as the leading windmill manufacturing city.
Another resource that Batavia was blessed with was its
limestone quarry. After the great
Chicago fire, Batavia supplied limestone to the city to help with the rebuilding process. Limestone from the
quarry was also used extensively in the construction of
Northern Illinois University in
Dekalb,
IL. Before the
turn of the century, mining was banned for fear of parts of the town collapsing due to the
explosions. The quarry was converted into a swimming park and remains so to this day.
Batavia was also home to the old
Bellevue Place, a
sanitarium for women ran by Dr. R. J. Patterson. The list of patients included
Mary Todd Lincoln after her husband,
President Abraham Lincoln, was assasinated.