Дупейж округы: Иллинойс штатының тарихы мен географиясы

County in Illinois, United States

DuPage County (/d//uː/'/p//eɪ//dʒ/ dooPAYJ) is a county in the U. S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second most populous county. Its county seat is Wheaton. Known for its vast tallgrass prairies, DuPage County has become mostly developed and suburbanized, although some pockets of farmland remain in the county's western and northern parts. Located in the Rust Belt, the area is one of few in the region whose economy quickly became dependent on the headquarters of several large corporations due to its close proximity to Chicago. As quarries closed in the 1990s, land that was formerly used for mining and plants was converted into mixed use, master planned developments to meet the growing tax base. The county has a mixed socioeconomic profile and residents of Hinsdale, Naperville and Oak Brook include some of the wealthiest people in the Midwest. On the whole, the county enjoys above average median household income levels and low overall poverty levels when compared to the national average. In 2023, Niche ranked four DuPage municipalities (Clarendon Hills at #125, Naperville at #130, Hinsdale at #166, and Lisle at #280) amongst the best places to live in America.

DuPage County was formed on February 9, 1839, out of Cook County. The county took its name from the DuPage River, which was, in turn, named after a French fur trapper, DuPage. The first written history to address the name, the 1882 History of DuPage County, Illinois, by Rufus Blanchard, relates:

The DuPage River had, from time immemorial, been a stream well known. It took its name from a French trader who settled on this stream below the fork previous to 1800. Hon. H. W. Blodgett, of Waukegan, informs the writer that J. B. Beaubien had often spoken to him of the old Frenchman, Du Page, whose station was on the bank of the river, down toward its mouth, and stated that the river took its name from him. The county name must have the same origin. Col Gurden S. Hubbard, who came into the country in 1818, informs the writer that the name DuPage, as applied to the river then, was universally known, but the trader for whom it was named lived there before his time. Mr. Beaubien says it is pronounced Du Pazhe (having the sound of ah, and that the P should be capitalized). This was in reply to Mr. Blodgett's inquiry of him concerning the matter. The first white settler in DuPage County was Bailey Hobson who, with Lewis Stewart, built a house in 1831 for the Hobson family at a site about 2 mile (3 km) south of present day downtown Naperville. Hobson later built a mill to serve surrounding farmers. Today, the Hobson house still stands on Hobson Road in Naperville, and the location of the mill is commemorated with a millstone and monument in today's Pioneer Park.

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 336 square miles (870 km2), of which 327 square miles (847 km2) is land and 8.9 square miles (23 km2) (2.6%) is water. The DuPage River and the Salt Creek flow through DuPage County. According to the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, the highest point in the county is located at the Mallard Lake Landfill, which at its highest point is 982 feet (299 m) above mean sea level.

Fermilab, which has the world's second highest energy particle accelerator, is in Batavia, where it straddles the border between Kane and DuPage counties. Argonne National Laboratory, one of the United States government's oldest and largest science and engineering research laboratories, is in unincorporated, southeast DuPage County. Both laboratories conduct tours of their facilities.

The 31 story Oakbrook Terrace Tower in Oakbrook Terrace, designed by Helmut Jahn, is the tallest building in Illinois outside of Chicago. The Elmhurst Art Museum is housed in a Mies Van Der Rohe building. There is a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Elmhurst. Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, a conservative Hindu sect, has built BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Chicago, a large, intricately carved, marble temple in Bartlett. There are some Sears Catalog Homes in Downers Grove and Villa Park. The Byzantine style clubhouse of the Medinah Country Club is also an architectural highlight of the county. Lombard is home to over thirty Lustron prefabricated steel homes.

DuPage also plays host to a rich local music scene. Some of the better known bands to come out of the area include The Hush Sound, Lucky Boys Confusion, and Plain White T's. Oakbrook Terrace's Drury Lane Theatre is an important live theatre in DuPage County. The Tivoli Theatre, one of the first theatres in the United States to be equipped with sound, is still in use in Downers Grove. In addition to showing movies, the Tivoli is home to several local performing arts groups. The McAninch Arts Center located on the Glen Ellyn campus of the College of DuPage also presents a variety of music, dance, theater and comedy year round both on its three indoor stages and its outdoor Lakeside Pavilion.

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County owns and manages of prairies, woodlands and wetlands. More than 4 million visitors each year enjoy 60 forest preserves, 145 miles of trails, and five education centers. Local urban parks include Lombard's Lilacia Park, Naperville's Centennial Beach, Woodridge's Cypress Cove Family Aquatic Park and Wheaton's Cosley Zoo. Privately funded attractions include Lisle's Morton Arboretum. In the 1980s, DuPage County also had another major attraction, Ebenezer Floppen Slopper's Wonderful Water slides in Oakbrook Terrace, which today, stands abandoned and neglected. The Illinois Prairie Path, a 61 mile (98 km) rail to trail multi use path, runs through Cook, DuPage and Kane Counties. It intersects with the Great Western Trail at several points, as well as the Fox River Trail at a few points. DuPage golf courses include: Wheaton's Chicago Golf Club, Arrowhead Golf Club and Cantigny Golf courses; the Medinah Country Club; the Village Links and Glen Oak Country Club of Glen Ellyn; Addison's Oak Meadows; Oak Brook's Oak Brook Golf Club, Butler National Golf Club, and Butterfield Country Club; Wood Dale's Maple Meadows; Westmont's Green Meadows; Lisle's River Bend (9 holes); West Chicago's St. Andrews Golf & Country Club and Winfield's Klein Creek Golf Club, among others.

The College of DuPage, in Glen Ellyn, is one of the largest community colleges in the United States. Wheaton College is one of the most well known and respected evangelical Christian colleges in the country. Benedictine University, Elmhurst University and North Central College also have long and respected histories in their communities. Other prominent colleges and universities include: Midwestern University and the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove; National University of Health Sciences in Lombard; Northern Seminary and National Louis University in Lisle; the Addison and Naperville campuses of DeVry University; the Naperville campus of Northern Illinois University; and the Wheaton campus of Illinois Institute of Technology.

DuPage hospitals include: Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield; Edward Hospital in Naperville; Elmhurst Memorial Hospital in Elmhurst; Adventist Hinsdale Hospital in Hinsdale; Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove; Adventist GlenOaks Hospital in Glendale Heights; and Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton.

Aside from the part of O'Hare International Airport that is located inside the county, DuPage also has many railroads and several small airports, including DuPage Airport. DuPage is served by the Pace bus system. DuPage County is also well covered by Metra, the Chicago area commuter rail system. Three of Metra's eleven lines pass through the county: Milwaukee District West Line, Union Pacific West Line, and BNSF Line. Nineteen Metra stations are within DuPage County. Amtrak also serves the county at Naperville station. The Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg run from Chicago to Quincy, the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles, and the California Zephyr runs from Chicago to Emeryville, California.