AURORA

city, Kane and Du Page counties, northeastern Illinois, U.S., on the Fox River. Founded as a trading point and mill site near a Potawatomi Indian village in 1834, the town was laid out in 1836. Aurora developed as both a residential and an industrial city. Many of its residents commute to Chicago, 39 miles (63 km) east. Its manufactures include heavy machinery, industrial and electrical equipment, and furniture. Aurora University, founded in 1893 at Mendota by the Advent Christian Church of America, was moved to Aurora in 1912. Waubonsee Community College, named for a local Indian chief, was established in 1966 in Sugar Grove, 4 miles (6 km) west. The historical society museum includes among its exhibits locally excavated mastodon bones. Inc. 1857. Pop. (1990) city, 99,581; Aurora-Elgin PMSA, 356,884.