North Aurora, IL

Explore the Fox Valley!

Algonquin
Aurora
Batavia
Bolingbrook
Crystal Lake
Elgin
Elmhurst
Fox Lake
Geneva
Huntley
Naperville
North Aurora
Oswego
St. Charles
Sandwich
Sugar Grove
West Chicago
West Dundee
Yorkville

The year was 1834; a German immigrant by the name of  John Peter Schneider moved his family from Pennsylvania to the Fox River Valley.  At a time when local Pottawatomie, Ottawa, and Chippewa tribes still officially owned the land to the south along the Fox River, Mr. Schneider established a sawmill -- and dam to provide power for the mill -- along the river in order to process lumber harvested from the surrounding river valley.  Schneider added a second mill (grist mill for processing flour) later, and when the U.S. Postal Service added an office there, it became known as "Schneider's Mills".  The name was changed to North Aurora in 1868 and incorporated in 1905.

Land was cleared, farmers settled in the area and used lumber from Schneider's mill to build homes and businesses.  The corn and grains grown in the rich and fertile river valley soil was processed at Schneider's grist mill; the local economy flourished and the community started to grow.  When a branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad was extended to the area, growth accelerated and North Aurora became a thriving community.

Even as the surrounding area has literally exploded in terms of population and urban sprawl, the modern-day Village of North Aurora has managed to maintain its quaint, small-town atmosphere, although it continues to keep a forward-thinking perspective, placing an emphasis on community and industry by attracting new residents and new businesses; it has adopted the motto "The Village with a view to the future".