Warrenville, Illinois

Warrenville was founded in 1833 when Julius Warren and his family moved west from New York seeking a fresh start from a failing gristmill and distillery. Daniel Warren, Julius' father, claimed land at what is now McDowell Woods, and Julius claimed land at what is now the Warrenville Grove Forest Preserve.[5] The first major establishment, an inn and tavern, was built in 1838 by Julius Warren himself, as the family was skilled in timber and grain. The inn still stands today, and was renovated in 2002.

The town quickly blossomed with two mills and a plank road connecting it with Naperville and Winfield, on which Julius operated a stagecoach line. The town failed at its bid to have the railroad come through the town.[5] However, in 1902, the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad came through town, which lasted until the late 1950s.

With a population of 4,000, Warrenville was finally incorporated as a city in 1967, following six unsuccessful attempts.[5] The 1970s and 1980s brought westward expansion from the city of Chicago, causing the small farming community's population to nearly double to 7,800.

Warrenville is located at 41°49′35″N 88°11′22″W (41.826280, -88.189465).[6]

According to the 2010 census, Warrenville has a total area of 5.618 square miles (14.55 km²), of which 5.46 square miles (14.14 km²) (or 97.19%) is land and 0.158 square miles (0.41 km²) (or 2.81%) is water.[7]

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 13,363 people, 4,931 households, and 3,476 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,430.6 people per square mile (938.1/km²). There were 5,067 housing units at an average density of 921.6 per square mile (355.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.13% White, 2.39% African American, 0.29% Native American, 3.43% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.46% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.10% of the population.

There were 4,931 households, out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 36.1% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $62,430, and the median income for a family was $72,233. Males had a median income of $50,144 versus $35,487 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,922. About 0.9% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

There is an "old neighborhood", south, with mixed housing styles near Galusha Avenue. There is a Forest Preserve neighborhood, east, with wooded-lot expensive multi-acre homes close to Cantigny War Museum, Cantigny Golf Course, and Mckee Marsh. In the mid-1970s two large subdivisions were developed in the west, next to Fermilab, a scientific research center where the world's largest superconducting particle accelerator ring was located. The subdivisions are called Summerlakes and Fox Hollow. Other notable subdivisions of Warrenville include Warrenville Lakes, Saddle Ridge, Thornwilde, Edgebrook and River Oaks.

Durham School Services is a company based in Warrenville. Navistar left Warrenville in 2011, and moved to neighboring Lisle due to tax incentives.

Warrenville is a part of Community Unit School District 200, and shares 20 schools with Wheaton. Residents of Warrenville attend Bower or Johnson elementary school, Hubble Middle School, St. Irene Catholic School (grades K-8), and Wheaton Warrenville South High School. Wheaton Warrenville South High School is located in Wheaton. Until 2009, Hubble was also located in Wheaton; however, in time for the 2009–2010 school year, a new Hubble was opened in Warrenville, and the new building is one of a very few schools to meet the LEED certification standards for energy-efficient design. Some children from all over DuPage County attend Four Winds Waldorf School, a private PreK-8 school in Warrenville. Warrenville is also home to the Illinois Youth Center, a correctional facility for female juvenile offenders.

In the 1950s, the library was housed in 1,000 square feet (93 m²) in the Community Building and was essentially a volunteer library filled with donated materials. Ten years later, the library closed due to a lack of volunteers and funding. The Warrenville Public Library District was formed by a referendum held in February 1979 with the citizens approving a 15-cent rate for library services. In 1986, voters approved another 15-cent tax rate increase to build and operate a 10,000-square-foot (930 m²) facility on Stafford Place. In September 2003, a large addition and renovation project which tripled the size of the facility was completed. The building was made possible by the City of Warrenville TIF funds. The Warrenville Public Library District is a member of the DuPage Library System.

• Adam Emory Albright, figure-in-landscape painter
• Ivan Albright, magic realist painter
• Dustin Byfuglien, Right Wing/Defense for Winnipeg Jets of NHL, won Stanley Cup in 2010 with the Chicago Blackhawks
• Brooks McCormick (1917–2006) chief executive officer of International Harvester, philanthropist and equestrian
• Chauncey McCormick (1884–1954) art collector and father of Brooks McCormick
• Tony Moeaki, Tight End for The Chicago Bears
• Miles J. Stanford, Christian author
• Jack Steadman, former president and general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs
• John Maynard Woodworth, first Surgeon General of the United States

• Warrenville Home Page
• Warrenville Library Home Page
• Julius M. Warren Biography