Carpentersville | |
Village | |
Library Hall on Washington Street
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Motto: "Building a better tomorrow today" | |
Country | United States |
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State | Illinois |
County | Kane |
Coordinates | 42°7′16″N 88°16′29″W / 42.12111°N 88.27472°WCoordinates: 42°7′16″N 88°16′29″W / 42.12111°N 88.27472°W |
Area | 8.10 sq mi (21 km2) |
- land | 7.90 sq mi (20 km2) |
- water | 0.20 sq mi (1 km2) |
Density | 4,105.4/sq mi (1,585/km2) |
Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
- summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
Postal code | 60110 |
Area code | 847 |
Location in Kane County and the state of Illinois.
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Carpentersville is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 37,691 at the 2010 census.
Carpentersville is located at 42°7′16″N 88°16′29″W / 42.12111°N 88.27472°W (42.121156, -88.274679).
According to the 2010 census, Carpentersville has a total area of 8.097 square miles (20.97 km2), of which 7.9 square miles (20.46 km2) (or 97.57%) is land and 0.197 square miles (0.51 km2) (or 2.43%) is water.
Julius Angelo Carpenter (August 19, 1827 – March 30, 1880) was the founder of Carpentersville, Illinois and its first prominent citizen. Carpenter came with his family from Uxbridge, Massachusetts and settled near the Fox River, along with his father Charles Valentine Carpenter and his uncle Daniel. Angelo was the first person to settle Carpentersville. Carpenter built the settlement's first store, bridge, and factory. He served two consecutive terms in the Illinois House of Representatives. In 1837, the brothers, en route to the Rock River, made camp along the east bank of the Fox River to wait out the spring floods that made continuing their oxcart journey impossible. They ended up staying in the area to settle what was then called Carpenters' Grove.
For the next hundred years, Carpentersville did not grow as rapidly as other Fox River communities which had more direct rail connections to Chicago. The electric interurban railroad came to Carpentersville in 1896. The line was built by the Carpentersville, Elgin and Aurora Railway from a connection with the streetcar system in Elgin, Illinois and ran for four miles, terminating at the Illinois Iron and Bolt foundry on Main Street. This company changed ownership several times, including the Aurora, Elgin and Chicago Railway. It ended up being owned by the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric Company in 1924. This line was always operated separately from the rest of the system, which included all traction lines between Carpentersville and Yorkville. This was a great convenience to factory workers who traveled to Elgin and for Elgin workers to come to Carpentersville. The line was used by everyone to enjoy Elgin's Trout Park and to enjoy the "summer cars" for a cool ride. The line started to fail with the onset of the Great Depression and the establishment and paving of Illinois Route 31, which encouraged automobile use and the creation of a bus route. The final blow came in 1933, when a tornado destroyed the bridge over the Fox River just south of West Dundee.