Subdivisions

By Jeanne Schultz Angel, Naper Settlement; All photos courtesy of Naper Settlement In researching local history, many people find themselves asking, “Why and how did Naperville become the dynamic suburb it is today?” From the farming community of the mid-1800s to the bustling technoburb of today, Naperville’s growth and success reflect the decisions of hundreds of policy makers, planners, leaders, and residents over the course of its history. Naperville’s history reflects a place of transformation, vision, and a fair amount of audacity. However, it is not without problematic events. As in most of the region’s Euro-American settlement in the early 1800s, Naperville’s beginnings were made possible only through the removal of Illinois’ remaining Indigenous residents, specifically the Potawatomi. When Naper’s Settlement was founded in 1831, it was part of Cook County. When DuPage County split off in 1839, Naperville was the oldest settlement and became the county seat. During this period, governing revolved around land claims with protection boards settling claim disputes. Some of the earliest town leaders established themselves as members of these boards. 

Naperville incorporated as a village in 1857. During the May 1857 election for village officers, 174 votes were cast. The president and four trustees were elected for one-year terms, while the clerk, police magistrate, and police constable served four-term years. Each position on the ballot had one citizen’s name next to it, and all were completely unopposed. Joseph Naper was elected the first village president, serving from May 1857-April 1858. 

 In March 1890, Naperville voters favored incorporation as a city by a 338 to 61 vote. The new government included a mayor and six aldermen (two from each ward). The city clerk, treasurer, attorney, and police magistrate were also elected positions. Over the next three decades, city residents started receiving city services including water, sewers, electricity, and telephones. Naperville changed its government several more times. In 1912, it adapted a commission government with a mayor and four commissioners-at-large. 

Between 1950 and 1980, Naperville completed 240 land annexations, primarily of farmland, sparking intense debates about what Naperville would grow to be. In 1954, the City Council approved a suburbanization ordinance that started a housing boom. This ordinance set minimum standards for home and neighborhood construction to ensure that Naperville buildings would always be “of the highest quality.” Excellent schools, along with the construction of the East-West tollway (made possible through the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956), made Naperville a desirable place for suburban living.  City-manager government was adopted in 1969. A mayor and four councilors selected a city manager to oversee day-to-day operations. This system was challenged by an unsuccessful referendum in 1976. The 1970s defined the path forward for the community as a professionally managed municipality that activated the community’s voice through various committees and commissions.  Prior to 1971, Naperville had no boundary agreements with adjacent municipalities, and by 1972, a Boundary Study Commission was formed in cooperation with Warrenville, Bolingbrook, and Aurora. Also, that year, CAN/DO, an organization to promote the revitalization of the downtown, was created to develop a comprehensive plan that included businesses, property owners, organizations, and policy makers. The result was an overarching plan that included retail, parking, streetscapes and sidewalks, public buildings, landscapes, and the Riverwalk concept. The Riverwalk came to fruition in 1981 as a major project to mark the 150th anniversary of Naperville’s founding.  Strategic changes in governance the last decade included reflecting on what it means to be an open and welcoming community with diverse leadership. The first woman was elected Mayor in 1983 and only recently have we elected policy makers of color. While the demographics of Naperville dramatically shifted since it was an all-white community prior to the 1970s, residents spoke publicly about their experiences of racial, ethnic, religious, and anti-LGBT discrimination. The City responded by planning for a more inclusive and diverse future.  In December 2019, it adopted a new mission statement valuing inclusivity and diversity: “To provide services that ensure a high quality of life, sound fiscal management, and a dynamic business environment, while creating an inclusive community that values diversity.” The Housing Advisory Commission is now a Human Rights and Fair Housing Commission. In 2021, the City’s first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager was hired. In much the same way as the 1960’s civil rights era, the religious, cultural, and corporate communities are innovating and participating in efforts to bring people together toward greater understanding.  Wheaton v. Naperville: DuPage’s County Seat QuestionAs early as 1857, Wheaton began to advocate for itself as a better location for DuPage County’s seat based on being more centrally located and having a railroad stop. Eventually on June 8, 1867, Wheaton called for an election to remove the county seat from Naperville to Wheaton, which carried by a narrow margin of 1,686 to 1,635 votes. However, Naperville refused to recognize the result of the election and residents and officials would not relinquish county records until a suit had been settled in the courts of Cook County on the validity of the county seat switch.   In a preliminary ruling, the courts had advised Naperville to move the records to Wheaton, but Naperville ignored the court’s advice. In the fall of 1868, forty citizens of Wheaton quietly drove down to Naperville in the middle of the night, backed a wagon to the windows of the Court House, loaded the books into the wagon, and traveled back to Wheaton. This was perceived as stealing the records by the southern residents of DuPage County and a justified transfer of County property by the northern residents.   According to local lore, “Friendship ties were severed…and things were said and done which are better forgotten…” The legal arguments over the county seat would continue for several more years and there remained a rivalry well into the 20th century between the two communities. https://napersettlement.org/