Joseph Naper

Who was Joseph Naper?

Joseph Naper was a shipbuilder, businessman, politician, and town founder.

Born in Bennington, Vermont, Naper traveled with his parents during his youth to Ashtabula, Ohio, where he helped his father, who was a ship builder. The Naper ships plied the Great Lakes with Fort Dearborn on Lake Michigan being one of the ports they regularly visited. On an early trip, Naper acquired lots near the fort, as did many of the first settlers to reach the Chicago River port.

On a later trip, in 1831, on the Telegraph, a ship Captain Joseph Naper built, he was joined by his brother, John Naper. Both families and five other families settled in the area, first known as Naper's Settlement, which later became a part of DuPage County. Joseph platted the town of Naperville, surveying the property and was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives for the first time in 1836. Here he laid the groundwork and supervised passage of the bill which broke DuPage County away from Cook County in 1839. Also serving on the committee was Abraham Lincoln, then a newly elected legislator from the Springfield area.

Joseph Naper returned to the Illinois General Assembly in 1852.