"St Charles in a nutshell..." a Saint Charles Travel Page by monica71

St Charles is my new hometown. I moved here almost 2 years ago. St Charles is a charming town, one hour west of Chicago.

St. Charles was home to the Potawatomi. The Potawatomi ("Neshnabi" as they called themselves, meaning "the people") were a nation of Algonquin-speaking peoples who subsisted as hunters, farmers, traders, and negotiators. They were a migrating group which moved from northern summer to southern winter settlements. They hunted and farmed subsisting on corn, beans, squash, fish, fowl, and various forest game.

St. Charles experienced a stunt in growth from about 1850 to 1870 due to several factors inside and outside of town. Natural disasters, such as floods and epidemics, the Civil War, and the loss of the railroad contributed to the lack of expansion.

Spiritualists, clairvoyants, or mediums were on the increase after the end of the Civil War due to the thousands of grieving survivors trying to connect with lost loved ones. It was so much accepted, that by the 1880s, the Universalist Church in St. Charles was converted into the hub of the Spiritualist movement in Northern Illinois.

After 1870, St. Charles was rejuvenated by railroad, new industry, and more emigration. The village of St. Charles was incorporated into a city in October of 1874 and K.J. Lewis was elected the first mayor. Improvements to provide valuable community services to the people of St. Charles included telephones by the 1880s, a library by 1889, a newspaper by 1881, a new highschool (Haines) in 1898, gas mains by 1901, free mail delivery by 1904, city water mains by 1906, and city sewers in 1912.

1. St. Charles has 1,269 hotel rooms, 3 shopping districts, Scarecrow Festival, Pride of the Fox Riverfest, Fine Art Show, monthly Kane County Flea Market, 120 miles of bike paths in Kane County, a full service resort and spa, golf, live theater, convention center, world-class training/meeting facilities?

2. Downtown St. Charles was named one of the region's "Top 10" by the Chicago Tribune for fine dining, arts and entertainment, recreational opportunities, unique shopping, and a lively nighttime personality?

3. The St. Charles Heritage Center maintains two small museums in historic local buildings?

4. St. Charles' Lincoln Park serves as the central location for two annual citywide events: the Pride of the Fox RiverFest in June, and the Scarecrow Festival in October?

5. St. Charles is also home to the Fox Valley Concert Band?

HA-HA! And you thought St Charles was a boring city, out in the middle of nowhere!