HISTORIX Vintage 1869 Naperville Illinois Map Poster - Old Bird's Eye View of Naperville IL - Naperville Dupage County Illinois Wall Art

Located in the greater Chicago metropolitan area, Naperville is some 28 miles west of the city's downtown and bears a distinct heritage as one of Chicago's most prominent suburbs. The town was founded in 1831 on the banks of the DuPage River and has grown to become Illinois' fourth largest city. Joseph Naper arrived with his wife, brother, and sister and, by 1832, had been joined by another one-hundred settlers. Naper's settlement was officially incorporated in 1857, and by the time this panoramic map was produced, the city had grown significantly following the conclusion of the American Civil War and the subsequent migration of residents across the nation.
 
Produced by an early pioneer of the form, Albert Ruger, this bird's eye perspective bears a unique style and distinctive aesthetic that immediately transports the viewer back in time, creating an indelible bond between the past and present. Ruger's work served as marketing materials to entice residents and merchants alike by featuring prominent civic buildings, educational institutions, religious communities, and natural attractions. As Chicago continued to become the largest city in the American Midwest, residents flocked to the neighboring suburbs, including Naperville, which developed distinct cultures of their own, and numerous neighborhoods and communities were established based on cultural heritage, many of which exist to this day.
 
This bird's eye perspective is an authentic piece of American cartographical history. Naperville remains a vibrant community and, by the latter portion of the nineteenth century, continued to grow, expand, and prosper.