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Elgin, Illinois

Elgin, Illinois
City
Elgin Historical Museum
Elgin Historical Museum
Flag of Elgin, Illinois
Flag
Official seal of Elgin, Illinois
Seal
Nickname(s): Watch City
Motto: City in the Suburbs
Location in Kane County and the state of Illinois.
Location in Kane County and the state of Illinois.
Coordinates: 42°02′18″N 88°19′22″W / 42.03833°N 88.32278°W / 42.03833; -88.32278Coordinates: 42°02′18″N 88°19′22″W / 42.03833°N 88.32278°W / 42.03833; -88.32278
Country United States USA
State Illinois
Counties Kane, Cook
Townships Elgin, Dundee, Rutland, Plato, Hanover Township, Cook County, Illinois
Incorporated 1854
Founded by 1835
Government
 • Type Home Rule, Council-manager
 • Mayor Dave Kaptain
 • City Manager Rick Kozal
Area
 • Total 37.71 sq mi (97.7 km2)
 • Land 37.16 sq mi (96.2 km2)
 • Water 0.54 sq mi (1.4 km2)  1.43%
Elevation 817 ft (249 m)
Population (2013)
 • Total 110,145 (US: 249th)
 • Density 2,911.2/sq mi (1,124.0/km2)
Standard of living (2011)
 • Median household income $56,091
 • Median home value $209,800
ZIP code(s) 60120–60125
Area code(s) 847 & 224
Geocode 17-23074
Website cityofelgin.org

Elgin (/ˈɛln/ ELL-jin) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Located roughly 35 mi (56 km) northwest of Chicago, it lies along the Fox River. As of 2013, the city had a total population of 110,145, making it the eighth-largest city in Illinois.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the Black Hawk Indian War of 1832 led to the expulsion of the Native Americans who had settlements and burial mounds in the area, and set the stage for the founding of Elgin. Thousands of militiamen and soldiers of Gen. Winfield Scott's army marched through the Fox River valley during the war, and accounts of the area's fertile soils and flowing springs soon filtered east.

In New York, James T. Gifford and his brother Hezekiah Gifford heard tales of this area ripe for settlement, and travelled west. Looking for a site on the stagecoach route from Chicago to Galena, Illinois, they eventually settled on a spot where the Fox River could be bridged. In April 1835, they established the city, naming it after the Scottish tune "Elgin".


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