The Mill Creek subdivision is located in unincorporated Kane County — just outside the city of Geneva's boundary limits. It’s not part of Geneva.

Mill Creek residents know this. Most Geneva residents and long-time Tri-Cities locals probably do, too.

But others are either unaware or find the setup confusing (I was part of the latter camp). So let’s take a closer look.

Oversight: Since it is unincorporated, Mill Creek falls under Kane County jurisdiction, which means that services such as zoning, road maintenance and law enforcement are provided by Kane County and Blackberry Township (not Geneva).

Mill Creek also has a private water and sewer system operated by the Mill Creek Water Reclamation District.

Schools: Despite being unincorporated, most of Mill Creek is part of the Geneva 304 School District, meaning children typically attend Geneva public schools. But due to its extensive boundaries, a small chunk of the subdivision feeds into Batavia schools.

How did Mill Creek come to be?

Mill Creek was planned developed in the 1990s as a large-scale residential community featuring single-family homes, townhomes, parks, a golf course and open spaces.

As Ron Burgundy might say, it was “kind of a big deal.” A sampling of local newspaper headlines from the early ‘90s:

• “Mill Creek Project Awes Plan Commission”

• “Mill Creek: City of the Future”

• “Behold Mill Creek: Shodeen Development Simply Boggles the Mind”

In 1992, The Geneva Republican reported that it was the largest development ever proposed entirely within Kane County. By looking through more articles form the old newspaper, I was able to put together this timeline:

• October 1991: Shodeen Construction unveiled plans for the 2,700-unit development, submitting an official proposal to Kane County. (Page 5)

• November 1992: Developer Kent Shodeen presented his vision for the 1,400-acre, self-contained community of 2,200 living units (down from 2,700) with a vibrant commercial space and a golf course. (Page 19)

• December 1993: The development was scaled back to 1,900 units split between Geneva and Batavia Park Districts as planning continued. (Page 7)

• January 1995: Sales began in Mill Creek’s first two neighborhoods. (Page 37)

• Summer 1997: Mill Creek Golf Course opened. (Page 71)

• September 1998: Mill Creek welcomed its 200th home buyer. (Page 80)

• January 1999: Mill Creek won the national “Best Overall Community” award in the 1998 Best in American Living competition. (Page 77)

• June 2006: The Oakmont and Tanna neighborhoods opened up for sales. (Page 36)

• Spring 2017: As the Mill Creek project was “wrapping up,” Northwest Quarterly Magazine published a piece in which Craig Shodeen (Kent’s son) reflected on the ambitious development.

You may have noticed that the timeline lacks any reference to school district issues — but I assure you, there were many (enough to warrant a separate deep dive). If enough readers find this interesting, I’ll build out a more detailed history — simply ran out of time this week.

Either way, from its ambitious beginnings in the early ‘90s to its status today as a thriving community, Mill Creek remains one of the most significant developments in the history of the Kane County with a major ongoing impact on the Tri-Cities.

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