St. Charles, Illinois
| St. Charles | |
| City of St. Charles | |
| City | |
 Downtown St. Charles, with the Fox River and the Municipal Center/City Hall (the white Art Moderne building, built 1940)
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| Motto: Pride of the Fox [2] | |
| Nickname: STC (local abbreviation) | |
| Country | United States |
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| State | Illinois |
| County | Kane |
| Coordinates | 41°54′49″N 88°18′39″W / 41.913744°N 88.31085°WCoordinates: 41°54′49″N 88°18′39″W / 41.913744°N 88.31085°W |
| Area | 14.93 sq mi (39 km2) |
| - land | 14.60 sq mi (38 km2) |
| - water | 0.32 sq mi (1 km2), 2.14% |
| Population | 33,327 (2012 estimate) |
| Founded | 1834 (as Charleston; changed to St. Charles in 1839) |
| Government | |
| - location | 2 E. Main St. |
| Mayor | Raymond Rogina |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 60174, 60175 |
| Area code | 630 |
 Location in Kane County and the state of Illinois.
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Website: www |
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St. Charles is a city in DuPage and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It lies roughly 40 miles (64 km) west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. According to a U.S. Census Bureau estimate in July 2012, the city had a total population of 33,327. The official city slogan is Pride of the Fox, after the Fox River that runs through the center of town. St. Charles is part of a tri-city area along with Geneva and Batavia, all western suburbs of similar size and relative socioeconomic condition.
St Charles was the location of the Native American community for the chief of the Pottawatomie that inhabited the area. A city park overlooking the river was dedicated to this Native American past. After the Black Hawk War in 1832, the entire area of the Fox Valley was opened to American settlement. Evan Shelby and William Franklin staked the first claim in what is now St. Charles in 1833. They came back in 1834 with their families from Indiana, and were joined by over a dozen other families later that year. The township was initially known as Charleston, but this name was already taken by the downstate city of Charleston, Illinois so the name of St. Charles (suggested by S. S. Jones, a lawyer) was adopted in 1839. St. Charles became incorporated as a city February 9, 1839 and reincorporated October 17, 1874 (under the 1870 Illinois Constitution).
Several "stations" of the slavery-era Underground Railroad were in St. Charles homes, complete with tunnels and false doorways; there was also an open abolitionist group called the Kane County Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1842, with about 180 members. Most accounts lead back to a local blacksmith who set up shop in a building now known as 305 W Main St. This was most likely "the hub," This address is the easiest to visit from the dozen "stations" known. As of 2015 a fine dining establishment holds residence at that address bearing a name in honor of that Blacksmith.
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Wikipedia