NAPERVILLE

city, Du Page county, northeastern Illinois, U.S., on the west branch of the Du Page River. The oldest town in the county, it was laid out in 1832 by Captain Joseph Naper, who built a sawmill on the river. The coming of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (1864) stimulated its growth. Primarily residential, Naperville has some manufacturing (furniture and electronic-switching equipment). North Central College, founded in Plainfield in 1861, was moved to Naperville in 1870. The Evangelical Theological Seminary was established there in 1873. Inc. village, 1851; city, 1890. Pop. (1990) 85,351.