History
Aurora's origins are bound up with the broader pattern of early settlement along the Fox River in Kane County. According to the Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904), the establishment of mills for sawing lumber and grinding grain was among the most immediate necessities for any new settlement in the region. Mill-site seekers — often pairs of brothers from adjacent counties in Western New York — moved through the Fox River valley identifying suitable locations for these enterprises.
Joseph McCarty, described as a mill-wright, left his home in Elmira, Chemung County, New York in the early 1800s to establish mill enterprises in Illinois. He is credited as the founder of Aurora, which would grow to become the principal city of Kane County. (Source: Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904))
The same source notes that mills operated at numerous Fox River locations across Kane County, including Elgin, North Aurora, Mill Creek, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, Dundee, and Carpentersville. Aurora stood among these as the largest settlement to emerge from this mill-founding period.
Wire fencing was reportedly introduced to the region around 1870, marking the end of the earlier rail-fence construction era that had characterized the pioneer landscape.
Aurora Public Library
Library associations were formed in pioneer Kane County communities as early as the 1830s, reflecting an early interest in civic education across the region. (Source: Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904))
Aurora's public library was established under State statutes by the Aurora City Council, opening in June 1882 in Memorial Hall. In 1885, a large addition was erected to accommodate a growing book collection and increased patronage. The library received annual funding of $6,000 from a one-and-one-half mill property tax levy. (Source: Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904))
In 1897, the Aurora Library Board, led by Rev. W. A. Colledge, corresponded with philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, resulting in a donation of $50,000 toward the construction of a new library building. The heirs of the late Joseph G. Stolp donated the central island site for the building. By 1904, the Carnegie-funded library building was nearly completed, constructed of pressed brick and Bedford stone. (Source: Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904))
Aurora's library was one of several in Kane County to benefit from civic generosity during this period. The Historical Encyclopedia notes that Kane County residents voluntarily contributed approximately $125,000 to three educational institutions in the decades preceding the Great War. Fellow Fox River communities including Dundee and Carpentersville also maintained library associations during this era — Dundee renting pleasant quarters with well-lighted reading rooms supplied with newspapers and magazines, and Carpentersville reportedly housing its collection in an elegant library building donated or erected for library use. (Source: Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County (1904))
Notable Associations
- Kane County — Aurora serves as the principal city of Kane County, the county within which the Fox River mill settlements developed during the pioneer era.
- Dundee and Carpentersville — Fellow Fox River communities in Kane County that similarly hosted mill enterprises during the early settlement period, founded under comparable circumstances by mill-wrights from Western New York. Both communities also maintained library associations during the Progressive Era.
Sources
- Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, 1904. Archive.org
- Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, 1904. Archive.org