Oswego, Illinois

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Oswego (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a village in Kendall and Will counties, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 34,485.[1] Oswego is the largest municipality in Kendall County. Part of the Chicago metropolitan area, it is an exurb of Chicago.[2][3]

History

Little White School Musuem in Oswego
The Little White School Museum in downtown Oswego was built in 1850.

In 1833, William Smith Wilson, his wife Rebecca, and his brother-in-law Daniel Pearce moved to the area now known as Oswego.[4] The land belonged to the local Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Chippewa tribes, but the United States government removed the Native Americans when the government started surveying the land along the Fox River in Kendall County. In 1842, the federal government placed the land for sale at an established price of $1.25 an acre.[5]

After the sale of the land, Lewis Brinsmaid Judson and Levi F. Arnold from New York laid out the village and named it "Hudson". However, when a post office was established, its location was given as "Lodi". Confusion over the official name of the area resulted in a decision in January 1837, when the citizens gathered and voted "Oswego" as the permanent name of the village by a single vote.[6] The village was named after Oswego, New York, "Oswego" being an Iroquois word meaning "mouth of the stream".[7] The ford across the Fox River in the town allowed Oswego to grow economically and as a town, eventually incorporated in 1852 with its village boundaries at the time being Harrison Street to the northwest, Jefferson Street to the northeast, Monroe Street to the southeast, and Benton Street to the southwest.[8] At the advent of the automobile, Oswego continued to see growth as it became a hub for three different state highways (Illinois Route 25, Illinois Route 71, and Illinois Route 31).[4]

Major community developments began when Caterpillar Inc. and Western Electric built industrial plants near Oswego in the mid-1950s.[9] This initially allowed nearby Boulder Hill to develop.[10] The next major development arrived in the mid-1980s during the suburban homebuilding boom, which allowed houses and buildings to populate the village. The rapid growth of the village allowed its limits to expand west of the Fox River into today's boundaries.[4]

Oswego is known to some Chicago-area residents for the town dragstrip on State Route 34, which was open from 1955 until 1979, where muscle cars were raced by drivers from all over the Midwest.[11][12] The drag days are still celebrated even though the strip has been closed for decades.[13] Although evidence of the drag strip, including parts of the track, still remain, the site is off limits to the public.

Geography

Oswego is located in northeastern Kendall County on the Fox River with a small portion in Will County. It is bordered to the north by Boulder Hill and Montgomery, to the east by Aurora, and to the west by Yorkville, the Kendall county seat.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Oswego has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (or 99.04%) is land and Template:Convert (or 0.96%) is water.[14]

Downtown

Downtown Oswego is home to historic buildings and homes, as well as shops and restaurants. The Village of Oswego launched a project to enhance and restore the historic downtown district. This project included significant infrastructure and streetscape improvements, such as the installation of brick pavers, sidewalks, landscaping, and decorative streetlights and benches. Hudson Crossing Park, located along the Fox River, opened in October 2004 where many children and families enjoy the scenery. The Waubonsee Creek Promenade, which stretches from Main Street to the new park, is the final phase of the downtown enhancements.[15] In 2008, the village celebrated its 175th anniversary.

Recreation and leisure

The Oswego area is home to over Template:Convert of open land, trails, and parks maintained by the Oswegoland Park District. Established in 1950, this governmental agency is guided to "create opportunities for a healthy community". Overseeing 63 parks, Template:Convert of walking trails, two aquatic parks, and the Little White School Museum, the park district provides offerings for the community of 20,000 households as well as visitors from farther away.

The Oswego area holds several races for fitness enthusiasts. Several area festivals are coordinated by the park district, such as the annual PrairieFest.[16]

Climate

Oswego has a hot-summer humid continental climate, typical for the Midwest region. More particularly, it is in the Köppen Dfa zone.[17] In the Köppen Dfa zone precipitation is usually amble, especially in the summer months. In the Dfa zones the spring and summer months can have severe weather, including tornadoes, when the polar front is in the southern margin of the zone. The region has four distinct seasons. Winters tend to be cold and have ample snow, blizzards are also a possibility. Springs tend to be humid, and can have precipitation and storms. Summers tend to be hot and have the highest precipitation overall as well as storms. Fall tends to cool down.[18]

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Demographics

Template:US Census populationAs of the 2020 census[19] there were 34,585 people, 11,566 households, and 9,294 families residing in the village. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 11,886 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the village was 71.18% White, 7.69% African American, 0.44% Native American, 4.66% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.96% from other races, and 11.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.66% of the population.

There were 11,566 households, out of which 44.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.98% were married couples living together, 8.43% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.64% were non-families. 17.45% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.54% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.49 and the average family size was 3.06.

The village's age distribution consisted of 30.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $97,330, and the median income for a family was $114,437. Males had a median income of $57,338 versus $42,412 for females. The per capita income for the village was $37,053. About 0.0% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.0% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Oswego village, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 2000[20] Pop 2010[21] Pop 2020[22] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 12,079 23,700 23,400 90.64% 78.08% 67.66%
Black or African American alone (NH) 236 1,518 2,574 1.77% 5.00% 7.44%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 24 26 30 0.18% 0.09% 0.09%
Asian alone (NH) 183 1,022 1,588 1.37% 3.37% 4.59%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 3 9 7 0.02% 0.03% 0.02%
Other race alone (NH) 17 45 153 0.13% 0.15% 0.44%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 119 479 1,417 0.89% 1.58% 4.10%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 665 3,556 5,416 4.99% 11.71% 15.66%
Total 13,326 30,335 34,585 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Economy

According to the Village's 2024 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[23] the top employers in the village are:

Top employers in Oswego (2024)
# Employer Number of Employees % Oswego population
1 Oswego School District 308 1,900 5.4%
2 Jewel-Osco 340 1.0%
3 Meijer 300 0.9%
4 Wal-Mart 280 0.8%
5 Radiac Abrasives 250 0.7%
6 Coldwell Banker Honig-Bell 225 0.6%
7 Target 150 0.4%
8 Home Depot 150 0.4%
9 Village of Oswego 150 0.4%
10 UPS 100 0.3%

Transportation

Major highway transportation corridors are:

The former Burlington Route line between Aurora and Streator runs through Oswego.

Education

The Oswego Community Unit School District 308 serves Oswego, Boulder Hill, Montgomery, Plainfield, Aurora, Yorkville and Joliet. It operates 22 schools, including one early learning center, 14 elementary schools for grades K-5, 5 junior high schools for grades 6–8, 2 high schools, and one opportunity school.[24] Portions of Oswego are within Yorkville Community Unit School District 115, which operates Yorkville High School.[25]

Notable people

Awards and recognition

Oswego was ranked #58 in 2011 on CNN/Money Magazine's Top 100 Best Towns to live.[42] CNN Money ranks these towns based on their job opportunities, schools, safety, economic strength, and other qualities. Kendall County has continuously been ranked as one of the fastest-growing counties and a place of rapid job growth.[43]

Gallery

References

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External links

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Template:Kendall County, Illinois Template:Will County, Illinois Template:Fox Valley Template:Chicagoland Template:US state navigation box Template:Authority control Template:Geographic location

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  16. ↑ http://www.oswegolandparkdistrict.org.aspx Template:Dead link
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  25. ↑ "About Our School District" (Archive). Yorkville Community Unit School District 115. Retrieved on June 9, 2015.
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Newton Bateman, Paul Selby, Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois, Volume 2, 1904, page 739
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  33. ↑ Newton, M. (2002). The Encyclopedia of Robberies, Heists, and Capers. Checkmark Books, an imprint of Facts on File, Inc. Template:ISBN. pp. 128-129.
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  35. ↑ Jason Meisner, Jeff Coen & Christy Gutowski, Dennis Hastert, former U.S. House speaker, sentenced to 15 months in prison, Chicago Tribune (April 27, 2016).
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ 'Illinois Blue Book 1979-1980,' Biographical Sketch of Robert Mitchler, pg. 144
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ 'Illinois Blue Book 1955-1956,' Biographical Sketch of Maud N. Peffers, pg. 228-229
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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