Editing Oswego, Illinois (section)

==History==
[[File:Little White School Museum.jpg|thumb|left|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.<ref name=history>{{cite web | url=http://www.oswegoil.org/resident-information/about-oswego/history.aspx | title=History | website=OswegoIL.org | access-date=15 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220200422/http://www.oswegoil.org/resident-information/about-oswego/history.aspx | archive-date=20 December 2014 | url-status=live }}</ref> The land belonged to the local [[Potawatomi]], [[Odawa|Ottawa]], and [[Ojibwe|Chippewa]] tribes, but the United States government [[Indian removal|removed]] the Native Americans when the government started surveying the land along the [[Fox River (Illinois River tributary)|Fox River]] in Kendall County. In 1842, the federal government placed the land for sale at an established price of $1.25 an acre.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Matile|first1=Roger|title=Oswego Township|date=April 30, 2008|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0738552088|page=23|chapter=2}}</ref>

After the sale of the land, Lewis Brinsmaid Judson and Levi F. Arnold from [[New York (state)|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 led to a decision in January 1837, when the citizens gathered and voted "Oswego" as the permanent name of the village by a single vote.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Matile|first1=Roger|title=Oswego Township|date=April 30, 2008|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0738552088|page=7}}</ref> The village was named after [[Oswego, New York]], "Oswego" being an [[Iroquois]] word meaning "mouth of the stream".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oswegotownship.org/about-us/#:~:text=Oswego%20is%20an%20Iroquois%20Native,the%20mouth%20of%20Waubonsie%20Creek | title=About Us | website=oswegotownship.org | access-date=12 March 2023 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oswegoil.org/pdf/map-annexation.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225095039/http://www.oswegoil.org/pdf/map-annexation.pdf |archive-date=2016-12-25 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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]]).<ref name=history />

Major community developments began when [[Caterpillar Inc.]] and [[Western Electric]] built industrial plants near Oswego in the mid-1950s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roger |first1=Matile |title=Oswego Township |date=2008 |publisher=Arcadia Pub. |location=Charleston, SC |isbn=978-0738552088 |page=8}}</ref> This initially allowed nearby [[Boulder Hill, Illinois|Boulder Hill]] to develop.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dardick |first1=Hal |title=Boulder Hill has it all but a town that it can call its own |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/01/02/boulder-hill-has-it-all-but-a-town-that-it-can-call-its-own/ |access-date=28 June 2016 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=January 2, 1991 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813031309/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-01-02/news/9101010238_1_sales-and-resales-cayman-islands-houses |archive-date=13 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name=history />

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 car]]s were raced by drivers from all over the [[Midwest]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alaimo |first1=Salvatore |title=Oswego Dragstrip in Oswego, Illinois Holds Many Drag Racing Memories |url=http://www.dragzine.com/news/oswego-dragstrip-in-oswego-illinois-holds-many-drag-racing-memories/ |website=Dragzine |publisher=Power Automedia |access-date=28 June 2016 |date=August 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914002810/http://www.dragzine.com/news/oswego-dragstrip-in-oswego-illinois-holds-many-drag-racing-memories/ |archive-date=14 September 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lohnes |first1=Brian |title=Wednesday Time Killer: Awesome Photos and History From Oswego Dragway, Including Grumpy Jenkins Wreckage! |url=http://bangshift.com/general-news/wednesday-time-killer-awesome-photos-and-history-from-oswego-dragway-including-grumpy-jenkins-wreckage/ |website=BangShift.com |access-date=28 June 2016 |date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810172206/http://bangshift.com/general-news/wednesday-time-killer-awesome-photos-and-history-from-oswego-dragway-including-grumpy-jenkins-wreckage/ |archive-date=10 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> The drag days are still celebrated even though the strip has been closed for decades.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Antinori |first1=Shannon |title=New Museum Exhibit Highlights Oswego Drag Raceway |url=http://patch.com/illinois/oswego/new-museum-exhibit-highlights-oswego-drag-raceway |access-date=28 June 2016 |work=Oswego Patch |publisher=Patch Media |date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160804115706/http://patch.com/illinois/oswego/new-museum-exhibit-highlights-oswego-drag-raceway |archive-date=4 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Although evidence of the drag strip, including parts of the track, still remain, the site is off limits to the public.