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

Saint Charles Travel Guide: 64 reviews and 118 photos

Statue downtown - Saint Charles
Statue downtown

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.

Fox Statue on the bridge downtown - Saint Charles

Fox Statue on the bridge downtown

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.

Did you know that ....
Downtown St Charles Map - Saint Charles

Downtown St Charles Map

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!

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:nice quiet town, with friendly people and lots of things to do
  • Cons:a little bit far away from the big city of Chicago, but... is this really a Cons?
  • In a nutshell:Come and give this town a try! You will fall in love with it!
  • Intro Updated Apr 11, 2008
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Reviews (53)

Sports Equipment and Patio Furniture - Saint Charles Sports Equipment and Patio Furniture Shopping (6)

This store is located in another historical building downtown St Charles. Its former name was Colson's Department Store.... more travel advice

St Charles Public Library - Saint Charles St Charles Public Library Things to Do (16)

The construction of this building began in 1906 and finished in 1908. The library, which contained over 2,000 books, had... more travel advice

In the dog park with Sammy - Saint Charles Take your best friend to a walk in the... Favorites (6)

St Charles has a very nice dog park by Fox River. The park is located at the intersection of Lake St/Rt 31 with Red Gate... more travel advice

Fox River from the bridge, downtown St Charles - Saint Charles Take a walk by the river Favorites (6)

Taking a walk along Fox Valley River is a great way to explore the area and the city! There are paths you can follow and... more travel advice

Comments (7)

  • Reply
    mary2u99's Profile Photo
    Feb 13, 2009 at 8:07 PM

    Thank you for the birthday wish. :-)

  • Reply
    Jan 29, 2009 at 2:24 PM

    Great tips and pictures

  • Reply
    Nemorino's Profile Photo
    Jul 31, 2008 at 2:53 AM

    I've never been to St. Charles even though I grew up only 32 miles away in Evanston. Interesting tips on the book store and art galleries. Too bad about the lack of public transportation, but I'm glad to hear that St. Charles has such good bike trails!

  • Reply
    virtualling's Profile Photo
    Apr 29, 2008 at 9:50 AM

    Great insight. Thanks to you, I now have an idea where St. Charles is. Great work!

  • Reply
    codrutz's Profile Photo
    Apr 8, 2008 at 2:03 PM

    You put a lot of work into your tips, even in other than "things do to", so I took my time to rate them all to acknowledge your effort. You have a nice future on VT if you keep on writing like this :)

  • Reply
    Marisola's Profile Photo
    Mar 14, 2008 at 11:35 AM

    I love St. Charles!!! Great tips! I hope to visit there again soon!

  • Reply
    hunterV's Profile Photo
    Mar 14, 2008 at 10:40 AM

    Hi, Monica! Nice tips, thanx!

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