The Naper Settlement Homepage

The Village of Naperville

A trading region for more than 100 years, Naperville’s earliest settlers brought with them plenty of determination. In 1831, Captain Joseph Naper, his brother, John, and their families were among the first to settle in Naperville along the banks of the DuPage River. Among the many new homes being built throughout the settlement, Joseph and John Naper built a trading house, school, sawmill and gristmill. 

By 1835, Naperville was a flourishing village situated at the crossroads of two critical thoroughfares: one stretching from Chicago to the Mississippi River town of Galena, and the other from Chicago to the state capitol which was, at that time, Vandalia. By 1839, DuPage County was established, named for a famous French trader who settled in the area. Naperville was named as county seat: however, that honor was lost to Wheaton several years later. In 1864, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroads were built through the town, all but securing the settlement a prominent economic role in the area.

Since then, Naperville continued to prosper and grow, albeit at a much slower pace than modern citizens may remember. It took almost 100 years for Naperville’s population to reach its 1960 population of 13,000, but it only took 40 years from that point for it to reach to today’s population of more than 125,000.