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Batavia, Illinois, a suburb of Chica-
go, was founded in 1833 and is the
oldest city in Kane County. Original-
ly called “Big Woods” for the wild
growth throughout the settlement,
the town was renamed by a local
judge and former Congressman, Isaac
Wilson, in 1840, after his former
home of Batavia, New York. The city
was officially incorporated in 1872.
During the latter part of the 19th
century, Batavia was home to six
American-style windmill manufactur-
ing companies, and became known
as “The Windmill City.” Many of the
original limestone buildings that
were part of these factories are still
in use today as government facilities
and private commercial offices and
storefronts. Batavia was also a major
manufacturer of the Conestoga wag-
ons used in the country’s westward
expansion. In 1936, the Campana
Company built the historic Campana
Factory to manufacture cosmetics,
most notably Italian Balm, the nation’s
best-selling hand lotion at the time.
In 1966, the United States De-
partment of Energy established the
Fermi National Laboratory, known as
Fermilab, just outside Batavia. Since
Batavia, Illinois
Where tradition
and vision meet
Batavia,
Illinois