2006 - 2007 Oswego Illinois Visitor & Community Guide

This listing is for the 2006 - 2007 Oswego Visitor & Community Guide. This guide contains a brief history, attractions, dining, shopping, downtown, accomodations, getting around map, events, healthcare, homes, recreation, public services, education, business & industry, and an "about us" for the Chamber of Commerce. It has maps & photos of the area. Great Oswego, Illinois item to check out the area or for historical research.

Oswego is a village in Kendall County, Illinois, United States. The village population, according to the 2010 census, is 30,355. Its population has more than doubled since the 2000 census count of 13,326. With that growth, Oswego is the largest municipality located completely within Kendall County.

Oswego is known to some Chicago area residents for the town dragstrip, open from 1955 until 1979, where muscle cars were raced by drivers from all over the Midwest. The drag days are celebrated today even though the strip has been closed for decades.

In 1833, William Smith Wilson, his wife Rebecca, and his brother-in-law Daniel Pearce moved to the area now known as Oswego. The land was officially owned by the local Potowatomi, Ottawa, and Chippewa tribes, but the US Government removed the Native Americans when the government started surveying the land along the Fox River in Kendall County. In 1842, they placed the land for sale at a price of $1.25 an acre.

After the sale of the land, two men from New York, Lewis Brinsmaid Judson and Levi F. Arnold, 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 led to a decision in January 1837, when the citizens then gathered and chose the permanent name of Oswego. The ford across the Fox River in the town allowed Oswego to grow economically and as a town. Many years later with the invention of the automobile, Oswego continued to see growth as it was a hub for three different state highways (Illinois Route 25, Illinois Route 71, and Illinois Route 31). These have allowed Oswego to grow to what it has become today.

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 streets-cape improvements, such as the installation of brick paves, 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. In 2008, the village celebrated its 175th anniversary.

Several festivals are hosted in Oswego, including the annual Drag Strip Days, Prairie Fest, Wine on the Fox, the Christmas Walk, and the Memorial Day Parade. The village also hosts the Oswego Country Market every Sunday from May through October.

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

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