More About
Oswego, IL

Explore the Fox Valley!

Algonquin
Aurora
Batavia
Bolingbrook
Crystal Lake
Elgin
Elmhurst
Fox Lake
Geneva
Huntley
Naperville
North Aurora
Oswego
St. Charles
Sandwich
Sugar Grove
West Chicago
West Dundee
Yorkville

The year was 1835, and to the south of what is present-day Aurora, local Pottawatomie, Ottawa, and Chippewa tribes still officially owned the land along the Fox River on which two newly-arrived businessmen laid out a new village.  Located about fifty miles west of Chicago at an easy crossing of the river where it was joined by Waubonsie Creek in Kendall County, the village of Hudson -- later to be named Oswego -- was founded.  Ever since Decoalia Towle and his wife Elizabeth established an inn and tavern at Oswego on the road to that crossing, the city has been growing.   

Railroads provided an initial boost to the local economy first in 1870 and then again in 1900.  An abundance of automobiles and new roads later added to Oswego's role as a transportation hub.  The population has grown from about 3,900 in 1990 to well over 25,000 in 2006... and the growth shows no signs of slowing as the city expands in all four directions.  Oswego now straddles both sides of the Fox River; continuing and rapid economic development, growth and abundant opportunity have become the city's trademarks.