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C−History
History · Oak Lawn

Oak Lawn dates to 1835

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #672 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Oak Lawn was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1966. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1890 on, and the census since 1910.

1835founded
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
20famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Oak Lawn’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Oak Lawn began

When was Oak Lawn founded?

1835

Oak Lawn dates its founding to 1835 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 287 in 19102020 census: 58,362191 years

How historic is Oak Lawn?

C−

More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Oak Lawn’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oak Lawn is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #672 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oak Lawn’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19403.9% of homes (±0.8) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 16%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 13%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Oak Lawn’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1835.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Oak Lawn’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18908 editions of the USGS map, 1890 to 1993. Watch Oak Lawn change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Oak Lawn.Deep rootsEstablished in 1835: 191 years of Oak Lawn.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oak Lawn’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oak Lawn’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPostcard of the Oak Lawn Business Distr…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Oak Lawn on the map, 1890 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Oak Lawn. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Oak Lawn on the 1890 USGS mapOak Lawn on the 1900 USGS mapOak Lawn on the 1928 USGS mapOak Lawn on the 1953 USGS mapOak Lawn on the 1963 USGS mapOak Lawn on the 1973 USGS mapOak Lawn on the 1980 USGS mapOak Lawn on the 1993 USGS map1890Des Plaines sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Oak Lawn.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Oak Lawn’s post office has been open since 1882. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Oak Lawn
1882–today
Simons
1886–1894
Ovington
1888–1893
18801950today
1cemetery inside Oak Lawn
Chapel Hill Gardens South

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Oak Lawn came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oak Lawn.

Read it all →

In August 1835, James B. Campbell purchased the land stretching between Cicero Avenue and Central Avenue from 95th Street to 103rd Street. It is unclear what Campbell's intentions with the area were, but by 1840, he had lost a court battle with the Illinois State Bank and his land was sold in a public auction. John Simpson, a prominent figure in early Oak Lawn history, bought the northern half of the property in 1842. By 1859, the recently incorporated government of Worth Township paid for the construction of Black Oak Grove Road, an early name for 95th Street. Black Oak Grove is also the earliest known name of the area that would become Oak Lawn. It was later shortened to Black Oak or Black Oaks. Before this however, the area now known as Oak Lawn was, briefly during the early 1800s, called Agnes. It was also on some occasion referred to as Oak Park.

ChaptersFoundingIncorporationPost 19451967 tornadoDowntown redevelopment

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Oak Lawn, 1835 to 1985

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835
    FoundingOak Lawn is established
  3. 1882Post officeThe Oak Lawn post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Simons post office opens
  5. 1888Post officeThe Ovington post office opens
  6. 1890On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1893Post officeThe Ovington post office closes
  8. 1894Post officeThe Simons post office closes
  9. 20th century
  10. 1910In the archivePostcard of the Oak Lawn Business District circa 1912
  11. 1947In the archivePostcard of the Oak Lawn Business District circa 1947
  12. 1953Born hereC. J. Kupec is born here
  13. 1968Born hereDan Donegan is born here
  14. 1973Born hereTim Byrdak is born here
  15. 1985Born hereMarc Rzepczynski is born here
By decade

Oak Lawn, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1940s3 items
Postcard of the Oak Lawn Business District circa 19121910Postcard of the Oak Lawn Business District circa 1912PostcardCook School Oak Lawn 19151915Cook School Oak Lawn 1915Postcard of the Oak Lawn Business District circa 19471947Postcard of the Oak Lawn Business District circa 1947Postcard
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
Columbus Avenue2013Columbus AvenueWest 95th Street2012West 95th StreetOak Lawn Tower2010Oak Lawn TowerMark Donahue (Michigan)2010Mark Donahue (Michigan)Mark Donahue (2010)2010Mark Donahue (2010)Stop-sign-oak-lawn2008Stop-sign-oak-lawnOak Lawn, Illinois2007Oak Lawn, Illinois52nd and 95th200752nd and 95thCentennial Park2006Centennial Park
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Postcard of the Oak Lawn Business District circa 1912
Retake this viewPostcard of the Oak Lawn Business District circa 1912, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Oak Lawn’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Oak Lawn, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 60,590

Between 287 and 60,590 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Oak Lawn’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

20 famous people were born in Oak Lawn

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
D
Dan DoneganAmerican guitarist · b. 1968
C. J. KupecAmerican basketball player · b. 1953
Marc RzepczynskiAmerican baseball player · b. 1985
Tim ByrdakAmerican baseball player · b. 1973
Brian BogusevicAmerican baseball player · b. 1984
K
Kevin M. BirminghamAmerican priest · b. 1971
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Chicago RidgeIts storyC−Alsip1 historic placeCBridgeviewIts storyDHometownIts storyD−Worth Township1 historic placeC+Chicago407 historic placesA+BurbankIts storyDStickney TownshipIts storyC−

Questions about Oak Lawn’s history

What year was Oak Lawn founded?

In 1835, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Oak Lawn’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1910 counted 287 people here.

How does Oak Lawn rank for history?

Oak Lawn is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #672 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Oak Lawn?

4% of Oak Lawn’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1966.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.