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BHistory
History · Oswego Township

Oswego Township dates to 1833, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #319 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Oswego Township was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Below: maps from 1925 on and the census since 1880.

1833founded
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Jauerback · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Oswego Township began

When was Oswego Township founded?

1833

Oswego Township dates its founding to 1833 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 663 in 18802020 census: 55,771193 years

How historic is Oswego Township?

B

More historic than 61% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Oswego Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Oswego Township is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #319 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Oswego Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1833, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19402.4% of homes (±0.8) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 16 historic buildings, 2.8 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 61%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 59%

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 Oswego Township’s 2.8 sits above most of its state (69% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1833.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Oswego Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Oswego Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1833: 193 years of Oswego Township.On the map since 19255 editions of the USGS map, 1925 to 1993. Watch Oswego Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Oswego Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Oswego Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Oswego Township on the map, 1925 to 1993

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

Oswego Township on the 1925 USGS mapOswego Township on the 1954 USGS mapOswego Township on the 1973 USGS mapOswego Township on the 1980 USGS mapOswego Township on the 1993 USGS map1925Yorkville 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 Oswego Township.

The story

How Oswego Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Oswego Township.

Read it all →

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 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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Oswego Township, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Oswego Illinois - 62008Oswego Illinois - 6Oswego Illinois - 52008Oswego Illinois - 5Oswego Illinois - 42008Oswego Illinois - 4Oswego Illinois - 32008Oswego Illinois - 3Oswego Illinois - 22008Oswego Illinois - 2Oswego Hardware sign, Washington Street, Oswego, Illinois2003Oswego Hardware sign, Washington Street, Oswego, Illi…
On the National Register

1 listing protects 16 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
16
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Oswego Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,0001880190019201940196019802000202034,585

Grew from 663 people in 1880 to 34,585 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Boulder Hill
Gone or out of use
Collins SchoolschoolOswego StationlocaleWalker SchoolschoolWilcox SchoolschoolWormely SchoolschoolWormley Airportairport
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Oswego Township
CowdreyDoudLincoln Memorial ParkOswego PrairieOswego TownshipWormley

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Bristol Township2 historic placesB−Aurora Township28 historic placesANa-Au-Say TownshipIts storyC−Wheatland TownshipIts storyDKendall Township1 historic placeC+

Questions about Oswego Township’s history

What year was Oswego Township founded?

In 1833, according to Wikidata. Oswego Township’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1880 counted 663 people here.

How does Oswego Township rank for history?

Oswego Township is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #319 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 Oswego Township?

2% of Oswego Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1998.

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 (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.