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Batavia History

Nicknamed the “City of Energy,” Batavia exemplifies its name. From its earliest days as home to windmill manufacturers, Batavia has been an important location for energy producers.

Batavia was originally nicknamed “The Windmill City” for its role as host to several windmill manufacturers. In 1856, the U.S. Wind Engine and Pump Company moved from Connecticut to Batavia. The move was prompted by their inability to profitably sell American style windmills in the east. Batavia was a growing, vibrant and established community with an abundance of natural resources and a ready-made labor market. The fit was perfect.

It did not take long before other windmill manufacturers saw the benefits of relocating to Batavia. The Challenge Company and Appleton Manufacturing Company arrived in the 1880s, as well as four smaller windmill producers. Batavia became the “Windmill Capital of the World.” The customer base supporting the industry was vast: farmers and ranchers from as far away as Asia and Africa were in line for local products.

The windmill business flourished until WWII. The economic impact of the war was too much for the local industry, and soon the factories were no more. Today, the restored historic windmills may be seen on display at the Government Center located on the corner of Houston and Island Avenues.

Batavia also attracted attention in the 1860s after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Mary Todd Lincoln, Lincoln’s widow, spent three months in Batavia’s Bellevue Place. At the time, Bellevue Place was a sanitarium and rest home for the mentally ill. The circumstances surrounding Mary’s commitment are hotly debated amongst Lincoln historians.

Other highlights of Batavia’s history include the development of the first self-regulated, automatically adjustable windmill; the flat-bottomed paper bag; and the invention of a process for grinding grain against a metal surface rather than stone. The nation’s annual observance of Flag Day is credited to the Batavia dentist Bernard J. Cigrand.

Today, the town is home to Fermilab, which attracts scientists from around the world looking to improve standards of living for all. Fermilab is at the forefront of research based on High Energy Physics and related disciplines. For more information visit www.fnal.gov.

Batavia has taken care to preserve and protect much of its history. City government is headquartered in the great stone building built to house the windmill maker Appleton Manufacturing Company. Surrounding the city building stand several classic windmills produced by Batavia companies. One major rock quarry is now a public swimming facility, and the artifacts of local history are gathered and protected in the Depot Museum, operated cooperatively by the Batavia Historical Society and the Batavia Park District.