West Chicago, Illinois
| West Chicago, Illinois | |
|---|---|
| City | |
 |
|
| Motto: "Where History and Progress meet..." | |
 Location in DuPage County and the state of Illinois. |
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| Coordinates: 41°53′18″N 88°12′35″W / 41.88833°N 88.20972°WCoordinates: 41°53′18″N 88°12′35″W / 41.88833°N 88.20972°W | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State | Illinois |
| County | DuPage |
| Townships | Winfield, Wayne |
| Incorporated | May 31, 1873 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-council |
| • Mayor | Ruben Pineda |
| Area | |
| • Total | 15.14 sq mi (39.2 km2) |
| • Land | 14.80 sq mi (38.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.34 sq mi (0.9 km2) 2.25% |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 27,086 |
| • Density | 1,800/sq mi (690/km2) |
| Standard of living | |
| • Per capita income | $19,287 (median: $63,424) |
| • Home value | $192,993 (median: $160,200) |
| ZIP code(s) | 60185, 60186 |
| Area code(s) | 630 and 331 |
| Geocode | 80060 |
| Website | www |
West Chicago is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,086 at the 2010 census. It was formerly named Junction and later Turner, after its founder, John B. Turner, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) in 1855. The city was initially established around the first junction of railroad lines in Illinois, and today is still served by the Union Pacific West Metra service via West Chicago station.
West Chicago is located at 41°53′18″N 88°12′35″W / 41.888378°N 88.209659°W.
According to the 2010 census, West Chicago has a total area of 15.141 square miles (39.22 km2), of which 14.8 square miles (38.33 km2) (or 97.75%) is land and 0.341 square miles (0.88 km2) (or 2.25%) is water.
The most notable early settler in the area was Erastus Gary, of Pomfret, Connecticut, who homesteaded 760 acres (310 ha) on the banks of the DuPage River, just south of West Chicago's present day city limits in the 1830s. Gary was the father of "Judge" Elbert Henry Gary, for whom Gary, Indiana is named, and who was the first CEO of America's first billion-dollar corporation, U.S. Steel. Gary was also instrumental in bringing brothers Jesse and Warren Wheaton, founders of nearby Wheaton, Illinois, the DuPage County seat, from Connecticut to the Midwest. A pioneer cemetery on the old Gary Homestead, where a sawmill had been built by the Garys, just north of Gary's Mill Road, and north of its terminus at Illinois Route 59, was built over with apartment buildings in the 1960s.
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