St Charles

City in northeastern Illinois, on the Fox River, a suburb 56 km/35 mi west of Chicago and 13 km/8 mi south of Elgin; population (1990) 22,500. At the outer edge of the Chicago metropolitan area, it contains some farmland, which is gradually giving way to residential development. Metal and plastic products are produced.

Founded in 1834, it emerged as one of the string of agricultural communities trading on the Fox River between Chicago and the area to the west.

St Charles

Community in southwestern Maryland, 8 km/5 mi southwest of Cedarville State Forest and 35 km/22 mi southeast of Washington DC; population (1990) 28,700. It is largely residential.

St Charles

City and administrative headquarters of St Charles County, east-central Missouri, on the Missouri River, 34 km/21 mi northwest of central St Louis; population (1990) 54,600. It is a trading, processing, and distribution centre for a fertile grain-farming area. It has foundries, processes coal and timber, and manufactures metal products, engines, electronic components, and clothing. Its historic centre attracts tourists.

History St Charles was founded by French traders in 1769, becoming the first permanent white settlement on the Missouri River. A trading post, it was the origination point for the Boone's Lick Trail to the West. When Missouri was admitted to the Union, St Charles became its capital (1821–26), and the capitol building is preserved. German settlers who arrived here between 1832 and 1870 were instrumental in making it a distribution centre.