South Elgin history

Down the Fox River from Elgin proper, South Elgin is a scenic suburban village about 40 miles from Chicago. The Kane County community has approximately 21,000 residents and is a fully developed bed of businesses, educational facilities, recreation opportunities, neighborhood life and natural beauty.

The first European-descended inhabitants of South Elgin arrived in the early 1800s, after Native American tribes vacated the territory. What would later become a sizeable, self-sufficient village started out as merely a small farming settlement with a remote train depot outside Chicago's ever-expanding urban center. The rural hamlet evolved over the years into a thriving Illinois community with a strong admiration for its picturesque locale and deep-seated history.

Taking advantage of the lush Fox River Valley, downtown South Elgin is flanked by grass-lined riverbanks, paved bike and jogging paths, and shady public picnic areas. A major, decade-long development boom that began in the latter half of the 1990s resulted in significant residential and commercial expansion for South Elgin. Several roomy, beautifully landscaped subdivisions with winding residential lanes were constructed. This added a variety of new properties to the mix of century-old homes, 1960s split-levels, raised ranches, traditional two-story houses and multiunit condo buildings. The new neighborhoods brought a multitude of townhouse complexes, single-family home developments and some luxury properties to the South Elgin real estate market.

An extensive commercial district emerged along Randall Road, on the village's southwest side. The retail center is anchored by a quartet of national big box stores: Home Depot, Best Buy, Staples and Petsmart. You'll also find the usual lineup of fast-food chains along this corridor as well as a number of sit-down restaurants and themed eateries.

Ongoing renewal efforts by South Elgin's village boards continue to reshape the community with new commercial outlets, an active industrial base, plans for downtown revitalization and even more residential developments.