Map of Carol Stream village

Carol Stream is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. Carol Stream was incorporated on January 5, 1959, and named after its founder’s daughter. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,854.

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Carol Stream location map. Where is Carol Stream village?

History

In 1853, St. John Wahlund Catholic Church was built in Gretna. The church was closed in 1867. When St. Michael’s was opened in Wheaton in 1872, St. Stephen’s parishioners were transferred to that parish. The church building was dismantled sometime in the late 19th century. St. Stephen’s Cemetery was located adjacent to the church building and was last used for burial in 1910. St. Stephen’s Cemetery (located north of the Great Western Trail behind the Ozinga concrete plant on St. Charles Road) was rededicated 100 years later on September 12, 2010.

In 1952, a farm from the area was featured on NBC; it was the site for the first outdoor telecast by the network in 1954.

A common misconception is that the municipality of Carol Stream was named for a local minor waterway. In fact, Carol Stream is one of the few communities in America that took its name from the first and last names of a living person: Carol Stream, the daughter of its founder Jay Stream. Carol Stream herself moved to Arizona as an adult, living there until her death on January 18, 2020.

Jay W. Stream (April 17, 1921 – January 22, 2006), a military veteran who had previously sold insurance and ready-mix concrete, was in the mid-1950s heading Durable Construction Company. He became frustrated with red tape while negotiating a planned 350–400 home subdivision in nearby Naperville, Illinois. A Naperville clerk reportedly advised Stream to “build your own town”, and in 1957, Stream began buying unincorporated farmland outside Wheaton. He hoped to allow people to work in the town they lived in, rather than have to commute to Chicago.

On August 26, 1957, Carol and three friends were returning from Racine, Wisconsin, in a 1949 Studebaker. While attempting to cross U.S. Route 45 in central Kenosha County, the car was struck in the right rear corner, killing 15-year-old Richard Christie of Chicago, the passenger seated there. Carol was ejected through the windshield and into a utility pole. Neurosurgeons at Kenosha Memorial Hospital said the comatose girl might never awaken or, if she did, would likely be severely handicapped. On advice of the doctors that her recovery might improve with good news, Jay decided to name the new community in her honor. After four months in a coma, Carol regained consciousness. Learning that the new village bore her full name, Carol said she thought it “odd and silly” at first (as she told Chicago Tribune reporter Eric Zorn in 1991).

Carol Stream was to be named Jacqueline Stream, but her parents changed her name to Carol when her due date fell near Christmas. She never lived in her namesake community, but moved from Wheaton, Illinois, to Arizona in 1957 following the end of her parents’ marriage. She participated in municipal celebrations and rides in parades during anniversary celebrations of the municipality’s 1959 incorporation, and she was frequently asked for autographs when she was in town. She died in Arizona on January 18, 2020.

One of the town’s two middle schools, Jay Stream Middle School is named after the founder, Jay Stream, who died on January 22, 2006.

Municipal history

• 1959: The village of Carol Stream is founded by Jay Stream, who envisions strong corporate growth in the area. First village board meeting on February 12.
• 1962: The Carol Stream Public Library opens at 397 Blackhawk Drive.
• 1965: The first Citizen of the Year Awards were given to Carl Bornholt and Elsie Johnson.
• 1966: The Carol Stream News (a paper) is founded.
• 1966: Nina Jo Schmale of Carol Stream is one of the eight student nurses killed by Richard Speck.
• 1972: The Carol Stream Fire Protection District is formed
• 1975: Janice Gerzevske is first woman elected Village President.
• 1976: As part of the United States Bicentennial celebrations, Carol Stream opens Gretna Station Museum with a July 4 dedication.
• 1984: The Carol Stream Association of Business and Industry is formed.
• 1987: Ross Ferraro is elected Mayor of Carol Stream.
• 1991: Village is re-certified as an Illinois certified city. Mark Bodane Appointed Fire Chief of the Carol Stream Fire District.
• 1992: The Carol Stream Post Office opens a regional processing center at Schmale and Fullerton. Most of the unincorporated areas around Carol Stream assume the ZIP Code of the new post office, causing some consternation among those who are used to having an address associated with Wheaton.
• 1992: The Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce is incorporated.
• 1998: The Town Center is dedicated, later to be known as the Ross Ferraro Town Center.
• 2003: Richard Willing becomes new police chief.
• 2006: Founder of Carol Stream, Jay Stream, dies January 22
• 2007: Frank Saverino replaces Ross Ferraro as Mayor, ending Ferraro’s 20-year tenure. Mark Bodane retires as Fire Chief of Carol Stream Fire District.
• 2009: Carol Stream celebrates its 50th anniversary.
• 2020: Ms. Carol Stream dies January 18

Carol Stream Road Map

Carol Stream city Satellite Map

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Carol Stream has a total area of 9.44 square miles (24.45 km), of which 9.12 square miles (23.62 km) (or 96.64%) is land and 0.32 square miles (0.83 km) (or 3.36%) is water.

See also