Joseph Naper

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Joseph Naper
Joseph Naper town founder of Naperville, Illinois, circa 1850s–1860s
Born	1798 Bennington, Vermont
Died	August 23, 1862 (aged 63-64) Naperville, Illinois
Resting place	Naperville Cemetery, Naperville, Illinois
Occupations	ship captain shipbuilder surveyor businessman state militia officer soldier politician city planner
Known for	being the promoter and co-founder of Naper's Settlement in 1831, the oldest frontier Illinois town
Relatives	John Murray (brother-in-law)

Joseph Naper, also known as "Joe Naper" and "Captain Joseph Naper" (1798–1862), was an early Illinois pioneer, ship captain, shipbuilder, businessman, surveyor, state militia officer, soldier, politician, and city planner. In 1831, Naper and his brother John were credited with founding Naper's Settlement. Besides Galena, Illinois (1827) and Dixon, Illinois (1830), Naper's Settlement was one of the oldest Illinois communities to be established west of Fort Dearborn, now Chicago. Naper's Settlement would be renamed Naperville, becoming the oldest town and first county seat of DuPage County, Illinois, later moved by county vote in 1868 and displaced by Wheaton.