Batavia, Illinois
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Batavia is a city located in Kane County, Illinois and DuPage County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 23,866. Fermilab is located in Batavia. A 2002 special census put the city's population at 25,153.
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Geography
Batavia is located at 41°50'48" North, 88°18'30" West (41.846562, -88.308441)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.8 km² (9.2 mi²). 23.4 km² (9.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.52% water.
History
Batavia has maintained its own small town character and ideals while striving to be very much in tune with the technologies and opportunities of modern-day life. Each of these intangible features thus makes Batavia an ideal place for living, working and raising a family.
The history of Batavia is one of heritage. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest city in Kane County. Our original founding father, a trailblazer named Christopher Payne, had participated in the founding of nearby Naperville, and after leaving his mark on Batavia, did a similar thing at the place which was to become Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Nicknamed ‘The Windmill City’, the title was justly earned by Batavia's industrial role at the turn of the century as the windmill manufacturing capital of the world. The popular Quarry Park Swimming Pool is another product of the past, for the stone mined from this earthly depression was used in large part to rebuild Chicago after the famous fire of 1871. Newton Wagons and Appleton Farm Machinery, two products which played a vital role in the settling of the American frontier, also had their origins in Batavia. The former Appleton building, which today is Batavia’s city and township government center at 100 North Island Avenue, was previously used in the 1960’s as an industrial complex where many of the rocket components were actually manufactured which first took U.S. astronauts to the moon.
Today, Batavia remains the home of over 200 varied manufacturing, research and warehousing firms as well as proudly serving as hometown for the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, world-renown center for high energy physics research, and Mooseheart, the international ‘child-city’ of the Moose Lodge.
Judge Samuel D. Lockwood, who lived across the street from the West Batavia Cemetery in the 1850’s, was a friend of Abraham Lincoln. In 1875, at Bellevue Place Sanitarium on South Jefferson Street, Mary Todd Lincoln, then the widow of the late President, was a patient for a brief period of time. Dr. Bernard Cigrand, the originator of the American Flag Day observance on June 14 of each year, also called Batavia his home as did the Reverend Faye Arnold Moon, grandfather of Colonel Edwin Aldrin, one of the first American astronauts to land on the Moon in 1969. In more recent time, Batavia has been the hometown for such recognized faces as professional basketball great Dan Issel, Super Bowl quarterback Ken Anderson, pro-golfer Sharon Moran and musical singing star Jackie de Shannon.
The Batavia School District is ranked as one of the most educationally advanced systems in the State of Illinois and city’s long-standing record of support towards quality education for children is a legend of envy and admiration throughout the Fox River Valley. Batavia’s new modern spacious library facility and its expanding park system also speak towards a promising future.
Batavia is a town of traditions. Christmas Tree Lane throughout downtown during December, the annual 4th of July Fireworks Show, the Windmill City Festival of mid-July, or the annual Brotherhood Banquet calling together men from all churches for a night of unified fellowship are testimony to Batavia's long running tradition.
Batavia has become a place where many people have found that they want to live. Population figures truly tell the story as Batavia grew from a population of 7,496 in 1960 to a census count of 23,866 in 2000.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 23,866 people, 8,494 households, and 6,268 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,018.2/km² (2,638.4/mi²). There are 8,806 housing units at an average density of 375.7/km² (973.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 93.21% White, 2.42% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 1.35% Asian, none Pacific Islander, 1.53% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. 5.27% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 8,494 households out of which 41.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% are married couples living together, 7.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% are non-families. 22.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.75 and the average family size is 3.27.
In the city the population is spread out with 31.3% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $68,656, and the median income for a family is $81,689. Males have a median income of $55,913 versus $35,083 for females. The per capita income for the city is $27,783. 3.6% of the population and 2.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 4.1% of those under the age of 18 and 5.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.